Lucy stirred her cocktail and stared blankly at a spot on the counter. With her other hand, she fingered the hem of her dress, a little red number she only chose after changing her mind three times.

There was something about being in foreign territory that made her uneasy and relieved that she dressed up, even though the only one she was meeting was Natsu. She hadn't considered being surrounded by people she had never seen before while choosing her outfit. Then again, maybe her subconsciousness did, because the other justification would've been dressing up to impress Natsu and that was absolutely out of bounds.

In addition, Magnolia Maple apparently had a large percentage of regulars that leaned towards the younger spectrum. Over half of them were male, and a number of them were fit enough to give Gray a run for his money even with their shirts on. Lucy guessed that, given Magnolia Maple's location, most of them weren't mages. And frankly, that was a pull factor, because there was something a little exhilarating about being stronger than a guy for once.

She smiled. It helped that she'd been bought two drinks and approached by a few guys and a girl since she'd walked in twenty minutes ago. That never would have happened back at the guild.

Maybe she'd frequent this place more often, Lucy thought as she lifted the bottle to her lips. Of course, she loved Fairy Tail. It was a family—a large, random, disjointed, insane family. While that was warm, incredible, and fulfilling on its own, there was something poetic about leaving for a night every now and then to indulge herself in the teenage dream of freedom, dumb flings, and meaningless romance.

Yes, maybe this place could become her home away from home. A retreat away from Fairy Tail, which was a retreat itself from the Heartfilia mansion. An oasis for her innocence, youthful beauty, and teenage needs. A well of—

(Hadn't she been waiting for someone?)

"Yo." Lucy turned around.

Right. How ironic that she was here because of Fairy Tail—or at least a member of it.

"My scarf keeps me pretty warm..." He grinned. Lucy gave him a quick lookover. Charming. Of course he was wearing his usual outfit, scruffy, casual, and barechested. Why should she have expected anything more? "But you're making me hot and fired up."

Lucy blinked. She opened her mouth. She closed it. She cradled her head in her palm and prayed to Mavis to banish from Fairy Tail whoever had given Natsu dating advice. Natsu's smile wavered.

"No heat references, no sexual allusions on the first line, and wear something nicer. Try again."

"Hey," he said four minutes later, clad in a scruffy dark blue pullover he obtained from who knew where, and Lucy was by no means curious. "Are you a celestial spirit mage?"

Lucy nodded, and smiled politely for the sake of it. "Yes, I am."

"Great!" he said, and leaned in a little. "Because I think you've got the key to my heart."

Lucy pursed her lips and pointed in the direction of the door.

"Hi there."

Lucy smiled.

"Are you a celestial spirit mage?"

Before Natsu even finished the sentence, Lucy was pointing at the door again. Natsu, eyes bright and laughing, said, "Because you're out of this world!" and turned and walked away before Lucy could sic a spirit on him.

Lucy watched him open the door before she turned back to the counter. She paused for a few seconds, then allowed herself to giggle into her drink.

"Hey," he said, walking up and leaning against the bar counter. It seemed like he was finally serious. "I haven't seen you around here before." He grinned. "What's your name?"

"Lucy." With a small smile, she squinted and said, "And you're…?"

"Natsu." He waved the bartender over and ordered a flaming martini, the bar's signature kuhlau-curacao served still fiery on request. He looked over at her while waiting for the bartender to finish mixing. "Do y'come here a lot?"

"Actually, it's my first time," said Lucy as the bartender slid the blue cocktail over to Natsu. Lucy suppressed a giggle at the appreciative look Natsu gave the sapphire flames still burning on top of the alcohol, but promised herself she would watch Natsu carefully. Magnolia Maple's martinis had a reputation for being particularly potent. Something about golem dust in their gin source. "I'm usually on the other side of Magnolia, but I thought I'd live a little tonight."

"Other side of Magnolia?" His expression pursed in thought before lighting up. "Oh, that means you're in that kickass guild Fairy Tail, right?"

Lucy chuckled. She looked up, and was a bit surprised to see Natsu watching her face and immediately making eye contact. His body language was good, too—everything facing her, eyes a little wide, eyebrows a little high, his smile natural. Attentive, interested, friendly.

A little more and she'd think he was genuinely flirting with her, she'd give him that. "You could say I am."

"Tell me about 'em."

Lucy laughed. "Where do I begin?"

"With the coolest guys," said Natsu earnestly. "Who's that one kickass Dragon Slayer? The guy who always wins every fight?"

"Ah, you mean Laxus!" said Lucy, clapping her hands together as Natsu's mouth fell dramatically for a brief second.

"No, no, no, the other one," he insisted.

"Laxus is the only S-class Dragon Slayer in Fairy Tail," said Lucy innocently, disregarding Natsu's crumpling of devastation. When he continued to sulk and nurse his drink, Lucy giggled, rolled her eyes, and continued, "But...if you're talking about the others, then Natsu Dragneel is a good friend of mine."

His ears noticeably perking up, Natsu shifted his gaze back to Lucy, though he was still playfully depressed. "'A good friend'?" he echoed. "Not 'badass' or 'awesome' or 'the strongest in Fairy Tail' but just 'a good friend'?"

"Hey, seems like Natsu might be more than just an idol stranger to you if you're so defensive," teased Lucy, nudging him with her shoulder. Natsu grinned and nudged back.

"I can't accept that such a great guy's only considered 'good'," said Natsu.

"Is that only because you have the same name, or…?" said Lucy. Natsu shrugged. She chuckled. "Either way, maybe you're overestimating him." She sipped her beer, thinking. "He can be rash and reckless, and that's led to some annoying problems. He only ever thinks about fighting, and violence is his first resort."

"Hey!" Natsu frowned and considered this. "Maybe he's...instinctive? And...likes efficient methods?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I think his efficient methods have led us the long way around more than once."

He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say anything, Lucy smiled and interrupted, "I'm not finished.

"He's passionately loyal to his friends; because of that, he's protective, brave, and empathetic. And even though it's annoying having to rebuild a branch of the guild every other week because he challenged someone again"—Natsu smiled sheepishly—"I think it's good that he's ambitious and straightforward."

Lucy looked down at her lap. Her words were beginning to feel a little looser, her thoughts a little lighter. The effects of the alcohol. Maybe she'd regret saying all this tomorrow. Maybe not.

"He's the first person I met from Fairy Tail and also the one who led me to the guild. We've been good friends since the beginning, and he's one of my most important people. We've been through a lot, and it's been hard and painful, but when you have someone like him to believe in, you never really worry. Being a thread away from death and somehow blindly trusting I'll be back at the guild soon anyway with him, with everyone, laughing and drinking, safe and sound, is the greatest happiness he's given me."

Natsu was quiet for a moment, but then she heard his low chuckle. Lucy looked up, slightly encouraged and miffed at the same time. Their eyes met.

"Sorry," she stammered. Damn it. She was supposed to be the teacher here, not the one getting unnecessarily and inappropriately sentimental.

Natus smiled. He reached for her beer and took a swig.

"I'm sure he feels the same way."

The rest of the night passed like a spontaneous, miniature version of Lucy's ideal date. They spent a few more hours at Magnolia Maple simply talking, and at one point, they abandoned the strangers facade and talked normally. When they left after last call, Lucy suggested they play strangers again and take the long way home.

So they walked the dim, romantic streets of 2 AM Magnolia as tipsy mage and unmagical boy on their first meeting with sparks between them. They cut through a park, and Lucy jokingly clung to Natsu's arm, laughing about scary shadows and strange noises. They took the train back to the northern side of town, complaining about the smell of urine and dozing off on each others' shoulder. When Lucy stepped up onto the ledge along the canal, Natsu held her hand for balance, and during those moments, she didn't think the moonlight had ever accentuated Natsu's features better. They broke character to exchange a look and a laugh when they saw Fairy Tail in the distance. When they finally stood in front of her door, it didn't feel like 4 AM.

"I've had a good time," said Lucy, turning to him. Act or not, she meant every word of that.

Natsu grinned. "Can I see y'again?"

Wait. Stop. Alright, so it wasn't an absurd question, but it caught Lucy off-guard. Was she teaching him how to spend a night with a girl—or how to date one?

No, he definitely asked for the former. If that was the case, then she needed to change the track of their conversation quickly, before it ended.

So she smiled and swayed her hips a little as she walked towards him. She stopped a mere few inches away, close enough that she could feel his body heat. She reached up, tangled her fingers in his hair, and pulled his face lower, looking above his confusion.

Her lips near his cheek, she whispered, "Would you like to come in?"

A second passed when Lucy thought she felt Natsu shiver. She vaguely felt a sense of empowerment and pride in being able to make the Dragon Slayer hesitate, but the feeling retracted when a cool breeze touched her skin. Maybe he was just cold.

And the feeling dissipated completely when Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and angled himself to kiss the spot beside her mouth, giving her goosebumps in multiple places at once.

Lucy closed her eyes and creased her brow. Alcohol, ambiance, act, she told herself. Three A's. That's all it was. Alcohol, ambiance…

Act.

"Cut," she murmured. Natsu pulled back. It took a moment for realization to dawn on his face.

"How'd I do? Was that wrong?"

Lucy smiled. "No, that was right. I invited you in. That's the first part of the whole process." She turned around to insert her key into her door. "It might take a few tries to find a girl who's up for playing your game that night, but be how you were tonight, and you'll be just fine." She pushed open her door. "You've passed the first lesson."

Natsu made a show of a small victory punch and quiet whoop. He looked over at her, eyes bright. "Thanks, Luce."

"It was my pleasure," she said, leaning against the frame. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Natsu grinned. Lucy shut the door.

Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled over to the bathroom and readied a quick shower. Her exhaustion had set in fully during the last few minutes of their date-meeting-lesson thing. It wasn't hard to gauge the reasons why.

The hot water massaged her tiredness and washed away the grime, but it didn't erase her confusion and self-loathing.

Afterwards, she dried off and slipped on an old shirt and pair of sweats. Her head heavy, she wanted nothing more than to just peacefully fall into bed and unconsciousness.

However, when she stepped out, her window was open and someone was already snoring softly in her bed. At an earlier hour, she might have started an uproar and rolled the perpetrator onto the floor.

But the clock on the wall said that it was 4:26 in the morning, and Natsu had every reason to be as exhausted as her. So she smiled softly, slipped under the covers, forgave him this time, and warmed herself with the fact that she had been expecting this to happen.

After all, Natsu had been barging into her life since the beginning.

-*-x-*-

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