Six: Of Lusting and Innocence part 1

"It's natural. It's estrogen. It's life. There's no crazy love involved here. It's simple raging attraction between a girl and a guy."

Lucy nodded in agreement with her reflection in her dressing mirror before correcting herself.

Actually, it's just simple raging attraction...On my part...Pathetic.

After the incident at the river the other day, Lucy decided that she didn't have deep feelings for Natsu. She was just crushing. Crushing badly on a hot guy. How else could she explain those erotic daydreams and lustful feelings bubbling up inside her whenever she saw him. Now that she's labeled her feelings as a product of mere infatuation, the task at hand was clear.

"And the remedy will be...," Lucy jumped up from her seat, grabbed her newest, sweetest, juiciest lip gloss and dabbed it on. "Operation Steal a Kiss!"

The girl leaned forward to the mirror and smacked her lips together noting how nice, plump and shiny her lips were. Then she surveyed her new black dress and red strappy shoes and thought she looked right damn irresistible. Feeling her bubble vanity grow after several months of absence, Lucy felt like her old self again. She knew she was a bombshell and that men would drop dead around her like flies to a burning lamp.

"Wait a minute..." Lucy suddenly smacked a hand to her forehead while the smirk on her pretty face melted. She sank down to the carpet and threw her lip gloss back onto her dresser.

How could she forget?! These tricks would work on any man, yes. Natsu, however, was this weird breed of a boy with the immunity toward feminine sexuality like a brick wall.

Shaking her hips and flipping her golden hair over a shoulder while batting her long lashes would do nothing to excite the boy. He'd probably ask her what was wrong and if eating a sandwich with extra baloney would help.

"Hey, Lucy! It's good to see you back," Mirajane called and waved the girl over to the bar when Lucy finally summoned the courage to come to the guild.

"How's it going?" Lucy asked as she pulled herself up on a stool.

"Just fine, and thank you for the jasmine lotion," Mirajane smiled as she poured a cocktail and sliding it over. "I love it."

"No problem."

Mirajane, the ever watchful motherly figure of Fairy Tail, could pick up trouble in one look and she spotted Lucy's right away. "Boy troubles?"

Lucy, thinking that she'd been able to hide her romantic feelings from others very well up to this point, was flabbergasted. Therefore, she proceeded to spray the counter with her drink. "WHAT?!"

The older girl laughed as she whipped out a towel and began wiping the counter. "Lucy, it's pretty obvious."

"H-how?"

"Well, for one thing, your reaction just now confirmed everything I needed to know," Lucy hung her head in shame. "And two, you look so cute." Mirajane indicated Lucy's outfit that consisted of one oversized baggy sweatshirt and tattered, faded jeans.

"Aw, Mirajannneee, you're making me feel horrible!" Lucy whined pathetically. She reached behind, pulled up her hood and laced it tight over her face, hoping it could provide some sort of wall between her embarrassment from further leaking out into the world.

"Now only one question remains," Mirajane pondered thoughtfully with a finger on her chin. "Who is the lucky boy?"

"Eehhhh, you're a sadist, you know that?" Lucy mumbled from underneath her hood, her brown eyes glowering in the dark.

"MIRAJANE!" A voice suddenly boomed through the guild.

Lucy went rigid as she recognized the one and only source it could have come from- Lucy's own "lucky boy." She didn't move an inch and simply sat still, praying that Natsu wouldn't recognize her in the rags she wore.

"Yes, Natsu?" Mirajane called back. It was as if everything related to the fire mage became magnified in Lucy's mind so that she even picked out Natsu's footsteps coming up to the bar over the usual din. She felt him lean on the counter next to her.

"You haven't seen Lucy, have you?"

Here came the one time Lucy thought she could telepathically communicate with Mirajane and tell her, scream to her that Lucy was in the next town over, and that they had not just been talking about Lucy's boy troubles.

Unfortunately, Mirajane understood her thoughts all too clearly but decided to engage in some matchmaking instead. Judging by the girl's refusal to acknowledge her teammate, Mirajane was able to piece together Lucy's mysterious love puzzle and turn it to her advantage.

"Oh, yes, I have. As a matter of fact, Lucy's right next to you."

After hearing Mirajane loud and clear, the stellar spirit mage quickly had a note to self: Never attempt to telepathically communicate with Mirajane ever again. In fact, never normally communicate with her again. Period.

Natsu's predictable reaction soon came about. "What?! Lucy?!" When she still didn't move, Lucy felt her hood quickly pulled back, subsequently messing up what ever decent hairstyle she had. As her blushing face was revealed and her eyes met Natsu's quizzical stare, she had an overwhelming urge to hide back under her hood again.

Instead, she decided to play it cool-or as cool as she could manage. The blonde couldn't help but notice Mirajane's satisfied smile in the corner of her eye as the latter went about making drinks as if Lucy's predicament was great entertainment. Yes, that ex-class mage is clearly a sadist- Lucy wondered why she hadn't seen it before.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted as Natsu honed into her personal bubble.

"What are you doing, Natsu?" the girl sputtered as she leaned away as far away as she could without toppling over the stool.

Natsu didn't answer her question but burst out laughing, "No wonder I couldn't find you! You kind of smell different."

"WHAT?!" Lucy didn't know how much more she embarrassment she could take in a day.

"No, no it's not bad, Luce," Natsu chuckled and sat down next to her. "You just don't smell all super flowery like you usually do. Kinda more of a softer soapy smell today." He nodded before taking another sniff in Lucy's direction.

"Will you cut that out?!" Lucy smacked an open hand into the boy's face and pushed his curious nose away from her. Although she had to admit, he was dead on. She had neglected to put on any perfume that morning after she'd lost her seductive gusto leaving her with a relatively normal vanilla soap scent.

"Oh, yeah! I've been looking all over for you!" Natsu said suddenly as he grabbed Lucy by the elbow and dragged her off the stool. "Let's go!"

"G-Go where?!" Lucy stammered while trying unsuccessfully to disengage herself from his grasp.

The dragonslayer turned back to face her with a quirked eyebrow. "Lucy, don't you remember?"

"Uhhh..."

"Fly-fishing of course!" the boy said excitedly and patted her on both shoulders as if she was a moron. "For Happy's birthday! Come on, just you and me! We'll catch a whole bunch and throw him a surprise dinner."

"Oh, right. Happy's birthday. How could I for-" the girl said before Natsu's words echoed in her mind.

Just you and me, you and me, you and me, you and me. You. And. Me.

"Well then, time's a-wasting, slowpoke!" Natsu got behind her and began to march her out of the guild.

"Wait! Wait!" Lucy dug her heels into the wooden floor boards but the sneakers slid across uselessly. "I can't go, Natsu!"

"What?" Lucy felt his hands slide off her shoulders and didn't know whether to be happy or sad. "Why?"

"Be-Because..." The wheels turned fast inside Lucy's mind. "I'm sick."

"What? Again?!" Natsu groaned as did Lucy. She felt ashamed that she couldn't even come up with a better cover. Luckily, it escaped Natsu's notice.

"Yeah. See?" Lucy pointed to her blushing face. "Fever. Can't fake that, can I?"

"Well, you do look all red and stuff," Natsu admitted as he came up to her face.

And then there was his hand on her cheek. It was surprisingly soft for a guy who constantly got into scuffles. Lucy felt herself involuntarily lean against his cool hand.

"Whoa, Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he caught the girl who went weak-kneed by the arms. "You okay?"

Poor Lucy couldn't even answer as she slid out of Natsu's arms and planted herself in a chair, utterly mortified.

"She's fine!" Both Lucy and Natsu turned toward the bar to see Mirajane hold up a bottle of whiskey. "Natsu, don't worry. Lucy was sick but I gave her some medicine. It had some alcohol in it so that's why she's slightly pink...and tipsy."

"WHAT?!" Natsu and Lucy chorused. Lucy glared at the older girl, envious of her quick thinking and lying skills.

"So, she's fine to go, Natsu! Just take good care of her!" Mirajane waved at the two before disappearing to the back kitchen before Lucy could throw more dirty looks her way.

"Luce, don't worry," The blonde looked back at her smiling teammate, realizing she was out of options. "I'll look after you. I promise."

His words hung in the air as Lucy looked up into Natsu's excited face and followed him out to their fishing adventure.

But Lucy didn't feel like going fishing. Lucy felt like she was the fish herself. With Natsu's words, she was finished- hook, line and sinker.

A/N: I'd originally based the fly-fishing idea off of Hiro Mashima's omake in manga vol. 1. I haven't seen it online though...Anyways, I think the anime included the fly-fishing scene in one of the latest episodes if you guys haven't watched it yet--can't remember which because...ahem...I've not been keeping up. Truthfully, the anime's really not cutting it for me. BUT, I will start watching again once the Phantom Arc rolls around! Haha, you guys know why ;)

Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay warm and safe and try not to spend too much!