AN: The chapters are definitely getting longer. It was actually too big for LJ. Gee, what am I doing?
Anyway, this chapter took me quite a bit, because I had three different versions planned. This one came out best, but it was pretty hard to write for some reason, since it didn't start off that good. That's why I really dislike something about Loki's part. I dunno. But the rest, I'm actually proud of. I think I captured them all pretty well.
And yes, I love to hint at as many couples as possible – which doesn't necessarily mean I like them. But most of the time I do. Just ignore me, it's insanely late in my country.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Because I'm certainly not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.
About the Simple Things
Chapter 4: The Thing with Being a Couple
- In which there are unforeseen reactions and some bets -
- Loki -
Natsu sighed in contentment as he leaned back against the bathtub, deeply sucking in the scent of Lucys soothing bubble bath; smelled somewhat like summer did. His eyes were closed pleasurably, both arms resting on either side of the tub and to make his state of utmost relaxation perfect, there she was, the girl of his dreams, leaning with her delicate back against his chest and playing with the bubbles. He smiled when he felt Lucy turn her head slightly to nuzzle her nose against his neck, the loose hairs of her messy bum tickling his shoulder as she gave a soft, satisfied moan.
"I swear I never wanna get out of this tub," Natsu mumbled absentmindedly.
Lucy giggled softly with a small sound of agreement as she blew some bubbles off of her hand. "My hands are already starting to shrivel up, though."
He shrugged, his eyes still closed. "Who cares."
The blonde summoner gave a warm smile, and then sighed deeply when she gazed up at the ceiling with a frown, suddenly looking very reflective. "Natsu?"
"Mh-hm?"
"Don't you think it's about time we told the others about us?"
Natsu promptly opened his eyes to a puzzled look, brows knitting up. "Well, it's not like we've been really hiding it, right?" he murmured. "I mean, we're just not the kind of couple that makes out in front of their friends. It's not our fault they don't realize it. They can be really dense at times."
"Look who's talking," Lucy teased playfully, grinning up at him and giggling when he splashed some water at her in offence. "But really, I think it'd be better if we told them. I'd definitely feel much more at ease knowing I can touch you whenever I want without risking to cause some of the older guild members to have a heart attack."
"I get that and all, but why push it?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, rubbing his cheek against hers from behind. "It's all good the way it is, right? We're doing fine, everything's normal at the guild and nobody's pestering us with stupid questions. Why not enjoy being this carefree while it lasts?"
Lucy gave a smug smile. "So basically, what you're saying is," she purred sweetly as she turned her head to look at him, "You don't want people to know that your girlfriend is an incredibly sexy and talented Stellar Spirit mage?"
"You forgot to mention your giant ego."
She playfully boxed his arm. "You doofus. At least admit you're just scared that I'll reveal some delicate details about you."
Natsu gave a laugh. "Why would I be scared of that?" he chuckled and arched a brow at her. "Hell, I'd probably be a hero among the guys for cracking the girl who came in second as Miss Fairy Tail."
"You're horrible," Lucy scoffed dramatically.
"Well, that's the risk of having everyone know about us," he remarked nonchalantly.
She smiled slyly. "I think I'm gonna take that risk. You know, Natsu," she murmured lascivious when she fully turned around, straddling him seductively and slinging her arms around his neck, "Think about it that way. Nobody's gonna try to make a move on me ever again."
"Hmm," he purred thoughtfully, his hands softly grabbing her thighs. "Interesting. Go on."
Lucy gave a smug smirk as she leaned down a bit to nibble at his lower lip. "You'll be able to kiss me whenever you want," she whispered into his mouth.
Natsu grinned against her lips. "Mh-hm. That's true."
"And also," she breathed with her most alluring voice, squirming against him, "You'll be a hero."
And just like that, he burst into hoarse chuckles, burying his head between her jaw and shoulder. "Yeah, that sure sounds awesome."
"So are we gonna tell them?" She softly touched his face to make him look at her, tilting her head when she brushed her nose against his. "Or do you need more convincing?"
Natsu arched a brow and smirked at her. "You know, Luce, I was never against them knowing."
The summoner pursed her lips at him in a definitely attractive way, playing with the salmon-colored hair on his neck. "Are you really sure about that?" she asked with a breathy voice, giving him a look that unmistakably meant that. "I'm really good at convincing."
Possessing some strange sort of animalistic intelligence when it was about those things, Natsu immediately got her hint, mischievously grinning up at her. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," Lucy whispered before she dove in for a hungry kiss.
They were so preoccupied with their lip-bruising make out session that the relatively loud popping noise almost made them jump out of their skins. Wide eyed and utterly dumfounded, they watched in some sort of shocked daze how a male silhouette surfaced in the middle of the bathroom, soon solidifying to a full-grown human (or maybe not so much human) man with a giant orange mane.
And suddenly, there was Loki standing before them, flashing a cheerful grin.
"Good day, Lucy, my darling! I've come to-" He cut himself off when his sunglasses started to cloud over. "Whoa, it sure is steamy in here."
"KYA!"
"Lucy? Where are you? I can't see anything!"
While Loki was looking around disoriented, his master had finally managed to snap back to reality from her state of utmost shock. She yelped in horror, immediately sliding off of Natsu's lap and ducking down beneath the water, which helped the fire-mage awake from his dumbstruck numbness. As the Stellar Spirit was trying to rub the steam from his sunglasses, Natsu quickly wrapped his arms around Lucy's breasts protectively, glaring viciously.
"Cover your eyes, you freak!" he snarled while his girlfriend was already blushing all shades of crimson, unable to form a correct sentence. "Damn it, what are you even doing here!?"
Loki blinked behind his clouded glasses in bewilderment. "Huh? Natsu? What the…" The next moment, something seemed to occur to him that made his eyes widen appalled. "Wait, we're not in Lucy's bathroom, are we?"
Natsu scowled dangerously at him. "Damn right we are! And she's naked, so don't you dare look!"
"You didn't have to tell him that!" Lucy shrieked bashfully.
"Man, of all the places," Loki cursed, looking away in embarrassment. "I am very sorry, Lucy."
Lucy quickly waved it off, only to realize that the Stellar Spirit wasn't able to see her anyway. Calming down a little at that insight, she gave a small sigh. "Never mind, Loki. Did you want something special?"
"Ah, yes! I've come to tell you-" But once again he cut himself off when his eyes widened once more in realization. "Wait a second. What the hell is Natsu doing in the bathtub with you!?"
The summoner felt her cheeks heat up, glancing over at Natsu who just looked away almost sheepishly. Then she turned back to Loki, nervously nudging her fingers together. "Well, you see… That's because Natsu und I are kind of… um, a couple now," she murmured weakly. "Actually, we've already been for quite a while."
There was a tense silence for a full minute, in which neither of them dared to move.
Loki's gawking mouth slowly closed. "… Oh."
"I honestly didn't want you to find out like this, but… well," Lucy sputtered in embarrassment. "I hope it won't stand between us as friends and… I – I really hope you're not too crushed." Holding her breath, she waited for his reaction.
Much to her and Natsu's utter confusion, Loki surprised them both with a nervous grin as he scratched his head. "I admit I'm a little bummed, but since it's Natsu…" He gave a short laugh. "I guess I can tolerate it."
Lucy blinked at him in puzzlement. "… Really?"
"Of course. I knew this would happen sooner or later," Loki pointed out and waved it off while Natsu wondered whether the guy meant her generally getting a boyfriend or the two of them starting something. "So I was kind of prepared already. Well, I wasn't exactly prepared for this scenario…"
"It's not my dream scenario either, idiot. We're the ones naked here," Natsu growled out.
Loki flashed him a grin. "I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about, Natsu. If it's you, I won't try to steal her. I'm happy for you guys."
While the fire-mage snorted upon that, Lucy could still only gawk at Loki in disbelief. "… Really?"
"Yes, really," he replied warmly with a smile. "Since it's Natsu, I know that Lucy's in good hands."
Natsu somehow felt a little embarrassed at his words, awkwardly clearing his throat as he asked, "So what was it that you wanted to tell her?" Seeing how the blonde was still in some state of shock, he guessed he would have to just speak for her.
"Oh, it can wait. You two are obviously… busy." He grinned slyly at them. "I'll just come back later when my timing hopefully isn't so bad."
Lucy was still gawking. "… Really?"
Arching a brow at the girl in sympathy, Loki shrugged. "Well, see you later then, my dearest Lucy. I'm still very sorry for this inconvenient intrusion. Oh, and don't forget to use protection!"
"Just get outta here, dumbass!" Natsu snapped as a chuckling Loki vanished back to the realm of the spirits.
Slowly, Lucy seemed to actually get over the horror, but she was still blinking in utter confusion. "He… he took it really well," she murmured in disbelief. "Why did he take it so well? I thought he loved me."
She noticed from the corner of her eyes how Natsu scowled at her, crossing his arms over his chest, and she couldn't help but smile. Really, that guy could be so readable and obvious.
"I'm not disappointed, you dork," she told him, flipping her fingers against his forehead. "I'm just confused is all. No reason to get jealous, though it's kinda cute."
"Whatever," Natsu huffed and looked away as he sulked for a bit more.
Lucy tapped her chin reflectively. "Still, it's weird that he was so calm about this."
"Who knows," said the fire-mage with a shrug, leaning back against the bathtub. "He must've been scared of my awesome powers."
"No, I don't think that's it."
"Are you saying Loki's stronger than me!?"
"Hmm. Maybe."
"That's it! Natsu tackle!"
"KYA! No tickling!"
- Erza and Kana -
After Loki had surprisingly taken the news very well, almost indifferently, Lucy and Natsu decided that it was pretty safe to also tell all the others in Fairy Tail. Well, actually, Lucy had decided this for them both, but since Natsu neither disagreed nor argued with her, she figured that he pretty much didn't care if anyone knew or not. The blonde thought it wasn't very nice to let their friends vegetate in a world of cluelessness, so she asked her boyfriend (actually, she very much ordered him) to tell everyone who wanted to know the truth about them.
The first people to know would of course be Gray and Erza. It was practically a given that they told them first, them being both their best friends and all. Funny enough, Natsu had suddenly been pretty eager to be the one that delivered Gray the news, which left Lucy to take care of Erza.
And now that she was approaching the woman everyone called Titania, she cursed Natsu for being such a damn coward when it came to that woman.
Lucy swallowed the big lump of anxiousness inside her throat, realizing that she was subtly trembling as she made one careful step after the other. Her intimidated stare was focused on Erza who was enjoying a bit of small talk with Kana, sitting by one of the tables in Fairy Tail's bar. She almost wanted to turn around and run the hell away, but one glance in Natsu's direction (he was watching the whole scene from a safe distance of approximately thirty feet) encouraged her to just get this over with. Nodding as he flashed a thumbs-up, she nodded weakly, gulping once again.
And suddenly, Erza was looking at her and Lucy felt her heart sink right into her feet. Don't show her you're scared. Don't show her you're scared, she told herself over and over again, forcing a nervous grin to spread on her face as she spoke up with a quaky voice.
"H-hi."
Erza gave her a warm smile; Lucy savored being one of the few people Erza actually smiled at – it could, after all, be the last time. "Hey, Lucy."
Kana grinned a bit groggily, cheeks reddened from the alcohol she was once again enjoying. "O-ho, long time no see," she said and after taking a long sip from her mug, she added, "How's your foot? I heard you broke it, or something."
"That's right." Erza frowned, apparently ashamed for forgetting about that. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Lucy mumbled, nervously nudging her fingers together as she smiled. "Actually, it was just a sprained ankle. I slipped in a puddle of mud. No biggie. See?" She raised her bandaged foot a bit, moving it around without pain or winces.
Erza breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then."
"You're such a klutz, Lucy," Kana laughed.
Lucy thought it was maybe a good idea to carefully bring up Natsu little by little. Mentally prepare her and stuff. "Good thing Natsu was with me. He carried me all the way across town to the hospital."
Kana arched a brow. "That Natsu?" she questioned in surprise.
"He's pretty reliable when you need him," Erza pointed out, visibly pleased. "I'm proud of him. He grew up to a fine young man."
"You talk as if you're his mother."
Now carefully make another hint, Lucy told herself. "Yeah, he can be very sweet. And pretty obliging."
Erza skeptically raised her eyebrows as Kana inquired once again, "That Natsu, obliging? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"
Lucy felt her cheeks heat up a bit as a soft smile formed on her lips. "There are a lot of things you don't know about him."
"Obviously," Erza said doubtfully, and the blonde felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Ah, but figures." Kana waved it off, nibbling at her alcohol. "He's much closer to you. I mean, you even managed to make him dress up. I don't know how you did it, though."
Erza's brown eyes immediately flashed up at this, and Lucy flinched. "What do you mean?"
Kana blinked at her sudden interest. "Nothing much. It's just, when I saw them the other day, they looked pretty fancy. Like they were on a date or something," she mumbled nonchalantly. "But since it's Natsu we're talking about, I figured that couldn't be even before he denied it."
Erza narrowed her eyes, and Lucy gulped. "So they looked fancy, huh? Date-fancy, yeah?"
"Yeah, but you know Natsu. He wouldn't even know what a date is."
Lucy shot a scowl in Natsu's direction that had him blink in confusion. Kana was definitely right with that one. He might have done better on their second and third date, but their first one had her still boil with frustration over his dumbness. She was so caught up in her thoughts that Erza's dangerous voice and her question made her freeze up to her bones.
"What exactly were you guys doing then?"
Don't show her you're scared, Lucy thought in total intimidation and smiled innocently at her friends. "Wh-what were we doing?"
"Yes, I wanna know," Erza practically demanded, her fierce stare piercing the blonde. Kana's eyes flitted back and forth from Lucy to the red-head, confused and obviously oblivious.
Lucy gave a much too high giggle. "W-well, it's kinda funny you ask," she sputtered nervously, crossing her arms behind her back and wiggling on her toe tips, careful not to make too much eye-contact. "Because we actually… Um, kind of, you know. Were on a date."
The silence that followed to her revelation was so tense that Lucy felt like the whole guild was staring at them; in reality though, it was only a very anxious Natsu. The summoner squeezed her eyes shut, ready for whatever torture would await her, but instead…
Lucy carefully opened one eye.
Nothing happened. Of course something did happen; it just wasn't what she expected.
"Damn it," Erza and Kana chorused in perfect unison.
Lucy was more shocked than she would have ever been if Erza had barged towards her with a thousand of swords. Their reactions were almost as weird as Loki's had been, though in a different way. And what the hell did they mean by 'damn it'?
She was so incredibly taken aback that she couldn't even speak.
Erza scowled indignantly at the blonde. "You just couldn't wait for another three months, could you!?"
Lucy gawked blankly at her friend. "I… I'm sorry?"
"Sorry isn't going to get me my money back!" The blonde could still only gape in pure bafflement as Erza shot out of her chair, stomping off in a very certain direction. "I lost a fortune, damn it! Natsu's going to pay for this!"
Kana gawked in utter horror as Erza barged towards Natsu with some strange sort of war cry as the fire-mage hastily dashed off.
"Bastard! You're going to pay me back right now!"
"GAH! Pay you back for what, damn it!?"
Lucy was meanwhile too busy wondering about what Erza had just indicated.
Okay. Something was fishy. And it certainly wasn't Happy's breath because he was too far away. What was with all that talk about money and a fortune that Erza lost? If Lucy didn't know any better, she would almost think that… But, no. Those were her friends she was talking about. They couldn't possibly have…
No, they wouldn't. … Would they?
"Ah shit, this is such a let-down." Kana gave a deep sigh as she rested her head in her palm. When Lucy shot her a confused stare, the woman quickly corrected herself, "A-ah, I don't mean you guys! It's cool you and Natsu are dating now, I'm happy for you."
Oh no way in hell, they really did. Lucy's eyes narrowed and it looked even scarier because she actually smiled. "Kana," she said sweetly. "Did you guys by any chance try to benefit from my private life?"
Kana gave a nervous laugh. "Eh-hehe. No?"
Lucy's face was suddenly right before hers, and Kana actually shrieked. "Tell me who's behind this."
- Gray and Lluvia –
Gray almost jumped out of his skin when he found Natsu cowering under his table right between his legs; damn everything, why did he have to take his pants off now of all times?
"The fuck are you doing-"
"Shht!" Natsu hissed with a finger on his mouth, giving him a meaningful look. "Hide me. It's Erza."
And oddly enough, Gray immediately shut his mouth at this. They had a secret understanding concerning every Erza-related emergency: Never ever sell each other out to the spawn of evil. And sure enough, Erza was soon standing before the ice-mage, bristling with anger and surrounded by the most vicious aura he had ever felt.
"Where. Is. He," she demanded, alarmingly quiet.
He saw Natsu throwing him a pleading look. "Who?"
"Na. Tsu." The way she spat the syllables of the name caused Gray goose bumps.
There was a silence in which Natsu prayed to the heavens that Gray wouldn't tell her he was right beneath her. And obviously, God was on his side that day.
"I think he ran outside just a moment ago."
When Erza dashed off without a thank you or any kind of recognition whatsoever, Natsu gave a sigh of relief, slowly crawling out from beneath the table to sit down across from Gray. Damn it all. He thought it had been pretty clever to send Lucy to talk to Erza (he figured she wouldn't do anything to her precious female friend), and yet it still somehow got him into knee-deep shit. He could only hope Erza would cool off until the next time he saw her; then again, that woman possessed an elephant's memory.
"What the hell was that all about?" Gray inquired, arching a brow at him.
Natsu just waved it off with a strained sigh. "She just found out that Lucy and I are a couple now."
Gray blinked at him in utter bafflement. For a long, long time. His mouth even hung open. Natsu smirked a bit. The guy looked like a landed fish right now. But when he finally started talking after what definitely were three full minutes, it was Natsu who looked like a landed fish.
"Damn it."
The fire-mage narrowed his eyes. "Hah? You got something to say, punk?"
Gray looked up and surprised his rival with an uncommon calm response, "Err. No. It's just, my…" He didn't finish the sentence, instead he sighed. Damn. He just lost a fortune.
Natsu's eyes widened at a sudden realization. "O-oi, don't tell me you… you love Lucy!?"
"No, you idiot!" Gray snapped, actually blushing a bit at the absurdness of that question. "She's pretty damn cute and all, but she's yours, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Natsu said slowly, carefully arching a brow at him. "But you didn't know that until just now."
Gray gave a sly grin. "You really are a damn idiot. We've known each other for over ten years. I'd know when you set your eyes on a girl. I was there every time, you know." He leaned back in his chair, looking triumphant. "I've known right from the start that you had a thing for her. But to go as far as to start a relationship… Who would've thought. You really like her, huh?"
Natsu felt his cheeks heat up a bit, but quickly hid it by running a hand through his salmon hair and looking away. "Yeah. I like her a lot."
"Oi, you dork."
When he looked up, Gray was looking down, his raven hair hiding a faint blush.
"Congratulations."
Natsu couldn't help a smile, knowing this was Gray's way of telling him that he was happy for them. That idiot was just way too much like him when it came to these sorts of things. The fire-mage would never admit it, but he actually felt a little relieved after he heard Gray approve of it. Maybe that guy's opinion meant more to him than he would ever let on.
"Thanks."
"I just hope Lucy knows what she's doing, dating a freak like you."
And just like that, Natsu was glaring at him again. "What was that, asshole!?"
"Eeeh!?"
A very high and very, very gleeful sounding voice promptly put an end to their argument before it could even start. The two men turned around to see Lluvia standing there, looking more than happy as she clasped her hands together in utter delight.
"Natsu-san, is it really true?" she exclaimed, very much thrilled. "You and Lucy-san are dating!?"
Natsu smirked at her. "Yup, it's true."
Lluvia blurted out an elated squeal and stumbled over to him to throw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug that had him and Gray blink in utter bewilderment.
"Oh, thank you, Natsu-san! Thank you so much!" she sputtered happily, squeezing him even tighter, and Natsu could only think it was a good thing Lucy didn't see it if she was just half as jealous a person as he was. "You have no idea how happy Lluvia is!"
"Y-you're welcome, I guess?" Natsu mumbled completely baffled.
Suddenly, Lluvia's eyes widened and she let go of Natsu as if he just burned her. "Gray-sama!" she exclaimed as she whirled around so fast that the ice-mage flinched. "Th-this doesn't mean Lluvia likes Natsu-san or anything! Lluvia is just so happy that her rival in love has found someone new!"
Gray blinked at her, wide eyes. "I-it's okay. I get it, I get it."
"But isn't this great, Gray-sama!?" His mind didn't work quick enough to keep up with the sonic speed she used to take a seat next to him. Hugging his arm, she added, "Now there's nothing that can stop us anymore!"
"Hah!?" Gray blurted out, blushing the faintest bit.
Natsu smirked. "Pfft. I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then."
Gray's eyes widened with despair. "Natsu! Don't you dare-"
"See you later." And off he was.
The ice-mage gave a beat sigh, glancing down at Lluvia who was still nuzzling against his arm. "Oi," he spoke up. "Why the hell are you so happy? Didn't you lose some money, too?"
"Yes, but Lluvia doesn't care." She beamed up at him. "Because Lluvia's rival in love is no longer a rival."
"I-is that so." Gray thought it was better not to ask.
- Mirajane, Levi and Visca –
"I know what you did."
Mirajane turned around, arching her brows in surprise as she caught sight of Lucy, looking pretty angry with her as she leaned at the counter. Well, that was very odd. Since when was Lucy angry with her?
"What do you mean, Lucy?" she asked innocently. She had a vague guess.
"You know what I mean," Lucy huffed, scowling at the bartender.
Mirajane blinked. "I'm afraid I don't." Though really, it was probably because of that.
"Answer one question." Lucy's eyes narrowed even further. "Did you or did you not take bets about how long it'll take Natsu and me to become a couple?"
Bingo, Mirajane thought, a bit amused. She had to find out sooner or later.
"I might have," she answered honestly.
"I can't believe you!" Lucy blurted out, cheeks flushing. "You'd actually bet over something like that!? That's just rude! You guys are rude, you hear!"
Mirajane flashed her white teeth in a smile. "Aw, c'mon, what's the big deal? We're just having a little fun with the obvious."
"Well, here's news for you." Lucy smiled triumphantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a passionate movement. "You can call the bets off now. Because Natsu and I are in fact dating now."
Mirajane looked delighted, to say the least. She bent forward in excitement. "Oh my, really!? That's so great for you guys! I'm so happy!"
Lucy crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest, quirking a brow at Mirajane. "Yeah, yeah, you can drop the act now. You already knew, didn't you?"
Mirajane gave a giggle, scratching the back of her head. "Visca saw you guys at a restaurant."
And just like that, Lucy shot a vicious glare in Visca's direction who was sitting a little further away at the bar, vaguely following their conversation. Visca flinched and nervously started to play around with her fingers.
"I-I only told Mira!" she quickly sputtered.
Lucy narrowed her eyes even further.
Visca gulped, looking away. "And maybe Levi, too."
"Ah, so that's why she's been so down all week." Lucy sighed as she turned around to Levi who was sulking at a table behind her. "You lost in that stupid bet, huh?"
Levi nodded miserably. "Gee, Lu-chan. Couldn't you guys have made out just a month sooner?"
"Don't feel too bad, Levi-chan. I lost in the bet, too," Mirajane told her soothingly.
Lucy arched a brow, still pretty disgruntled. "So what did you bet on, oh mighty guard of the wagers?"
Mirajane offered a wide smile. "Three weeks."
The summoner could only gawk at her in disbelief. "You bet that Natsu and I would start something after knowing each other just three weeks?"
Mirajane nodded eagerly. "Yup."
"That's just stupid."
"But you always were so lovey-dovey."
"When were we ever lovey-dovey?"
"Hey, Lucy," Visca said, suddenly standing next to her and nudging the blonde gently in the side. "So now that it's official and all, how did it happen?"
"Oooh! Oh yeah, tell us everything," Levi chirped as she shot up from her chair to prance to Lucy's side, smiling very mischievously.
Lucy felt her cheeks heat up bit by bit when even Mirajane scooted closer, basing her face on her arms, eyes sparkling in excitement. Her face flushed even more when she thought back to that particular first night, and that particular first kiss.
"Um, well. You know how it is." Her voice was very weird and quaky. "It just kinda happened."
"Lu-chan, don't tease us," Levi whined, pursing her lips.
"We wanna hear everything," Mirajane said in anticipation as Visca nodded.
The blonde started playing with her fingers, feeling embarrassed for some reason. "Well, one night, he just… sort of kissed me."
"Oooh," they all cooed in perfect unison.
Lucy felt her lips curl up to a warm smile. "It was totally random, but in a good way."
"Okay, all right, let's hear about the kiss," said Visca.
Mirajane gave a dreamy smile. "I bet it was like a soft brush against your lips, wasn't it? Really shy and chaste."
"Don't bet, you're not good at it," Visca pointed out.
"Oh, I know!" Levi exclaimed. "It's Natsu we're talking about. It was definitely an 'I gotta have you now' kind of thing. Really passionate and stuff."
Lucy giggled quietly, thinking Levi might not be that wrong. Usually, the blonde wasn't one to openly talk about her private life, but hey, they were all girls. Plus, she was scared she would maybe explode one day if she didn't tell anyone soon. What were girlfriends for if not for sharing these beautiful little details with?
"Well, at first it was really intense, you know," she said. "And then, we just sort of sunk into it."
"So, was he holding you?" Visca inquired.
"Was he hugging you gently like he never wanted to let go?" Mirajane added.
"Or was his hand, like, on your back or something?" Levi asked.
Lucy felt like crying from happiness. It was so great to finally be able to talk to girls about it. So great that she didn't even feel embarrassed about it anymore, rather… proud. A bit, at least. And very excited to share that wonderful moment of her life.
She gave a content sigh. "Actually, first they started on my waist. And then, they slid up, and then…" She bit her lip, touching her blonde locks. "They were in my hair."
"Ohh," they cooed once more.
Mirajane smiled in awe. "That's so romantic."
"Lu-chan, you're sooo lucky."
"I wish Arzack was like that."
Arzack called up from somewhere behind them, "What was that about me?"
"Nothing," the three women sighed, dreamily.
Lucy just grinned. Maybe she was a bit of a hero, too.
- Gazille –
"And then I kissed her," Natsu told Gazille around a mouthful of pizza.
Gazille nodded in comprehension. "Tongue?"
Natsu swallowed the bite, nodding. "Yeah."
"Cool," Gazille said, vaguely impressed, chewing on his own piece of pizza. "Bed-wise?"
"Hot."
"Thought so."
- Lluvia part two –
Lucy sighed. "Lluvia? You can let go of me now."
"Lluvia is so happy! Thank you so much for giving up on Gray-sama!"
Another sigh. "I told you, I never had a crush on Gray to begin with."
"Thank you so much, Lucy-san!"
Hopeless, Lucy thought, smiling a bit as she patted the girl's back. "You're welcome."
- Elfman, Arzack, Jet and Droy –
"I am so touched." Elfman actually sniffled a little, but tried his best to hide his glassy eyes. "Natsu, you truly are a man among men."
Jet frowned at the fire-mage. "I don't get it. It sounds so easy when you say it, yet Levi rejected me within two seconds."
"Oi, at least she hesitated a bit with you," Droy growled out, scowling at his friend. "I was rejected right away."
"That's tough," Jet nodded in sympathy, patting Droy's back. "We're companions in misfortune."
Arzack grinned widely at Natsu. "Seems we were just really lucky, eh Natsu?"
Natsu blinked. "What do you mean, we?" But soon his eyes widened in realization. "Ah, that's right! You and Visca were in that restaurant too, when Lu and I had our first date."
"Yup, we're going out now," Arzack told them proudly.
"What the… You too!?" Jet blurted out.
Droy sighed in defeat. "Damn, it's just not fair anymore."
"So manly." Elfman sniffled once more.
Natsu offered him a wide grin. "Hey, congratulations! It was about time, idiot."
Arzack chuckled. "You too, Natsu."
"I really hate you guys," Droy said.
Jet nodded miserably. "Yeah."
- Macau and the other guys –
"Hey hey, Lucy," Macau said with a sly grin as she walked past his table. He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I just heard from Kana. Congratulations. I knew right from the start."
Lucy smiled happily at him, slowly starting to enjoy all the attention. "Thank you, Macau-san."
"Lucy-chyaaan," Wakaba whined pitifully. "You're really taken now?"
Lucy grinned. "Looks like it."
"No faaair!"
"What are you disappointed for?" Macau teased, grinning devilishly. "You have a wife, you idiot."
Wakaba suddenly looked more than crushed. "Ungh, don't mention my wife…"
"Man, Natsu sure is lucky," Max said with a grin, pretty impressed. "Lucy came in second as Miss Fairy Tail after all. And her bikini pictures sell like hot cakes."
Lucy sighed in exasperation while Warren just laughed, telling him, "I wouldn't sell those anymore if I were you. Knowing Natsu, he'll be pretty pissed."
"GAH! That's true! I've gotta talk to Master!"
Lucy's eyes widened. Oh right. She almost forgot about him.
- Makarov –
"Hey, look," Lucy cooed as she slung her arms around Natsu's neck from behind, giving him a soft peck on the cheek; Natsu startled a bit, but soon smiled. "I can do this in public now."
"How cute," Jet and Droy chorused with a glare.
Lucy stuck her tongue out at them, sitting down next to Natsu as he rolled his eyes, growling out, "Oh, knock it off, you bastards. Get over it."
The blonde smiled sweetly at her boyfriend, playing with his fingers. "So, looks like almost everyone knows now."
"Guess so," Natsu said, biting into the last piece of his pizza. "Who's left?"
"Master," Lucy said innocently. "I figured we'd tell him together."
Natsu blinked at her. "Why?" he asked around a mouthful.
Lucy flinched as some crumbs landed in her face, wiping them away with a scowl. "Jeez, swallow before you talk, you idiot." Sighing, she explained, "Because he's the Master, Natsu. It's more appropriate this way. After all, he thinks of all of us as his children."
Swallowing, he shrugged. "Makes sense," he admitted, nodding. "Okay, come here."
Lucy watched in bewilderment as Natsu slung an arm around her shoulders, turning around to the counter where Makarov was apparently taking a nap in a cross-legged position; or he was faking it, like so often. Obviously, Natsu didn't care either way as he took a deep breath and Lucy immediately felt like slapping her forehead at his bluntness.
"OI! JII-CHAN!"
Makarov cracked an eye open. Lucy thought it was astounding he had heard Natsu through all the noise in the guild; then again, Natsu's voice was just loud like that.
"What do you want? You're noisy, brat."
Natsu grinned widely at him. "Check it out! I have a girlfriend now!"
Makarov smirked, quirking a brow. "Ah, so you and Lucy finally hit it off." Yawning, he added, "Right on time. I just won a fortune."
Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing, gawking at the elder mage in pure disbelief. "Master, don't tell me you actually took part in that stupid bet-thing!"
Natsu blinked. "What bet-thing?"
"Actually," Mirajane spoke up, smiling at them. "He was the one who set it all up in the first place. I just took care of all the details and the money."
"I-I can't believe it…!" Lucy sputtered in shock. "Master! How could you!"
Makarov gave a nervous grin. "It seemed like an easy way to make some money. You two were just way too obvious and predictable."
Lucy was still gaping in pure bafflement, but Natsu was laughing loudly. She was on the brink of whacking him across the head for laughing over their rudeness, but when he grinned at her and squeezed her hand, her anger was subdued to a mere scowl.
"You know, we really were, Luce." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Everyone knew before we did."
Lucy sighed, shaking her head, and smiled. "Looks like it."
"You guys are just sooo cute," Jet and Droy chorused monotonously.
Natsu groaned in irritation. "Knock it off already!"
Lucy was suddenly grinning slyly. "You know what? We really are cute." And with that, she leaned up to press a kiss on Natsu's grinning mouth.
"Oh man!" Droy whined. "Did you have to do that?"
Jet's head sunk down on the table in misery. "Life is so cruel."
Mirajane smiled at Makarov. "Looks like you won after all, Master." Makarov glanced up at her, grinning widely as he pointed his head at Natsu and Lucy.
"Looks like they won."
tbc