Lucy was basically a sweaty puddle by the time her friends had joined her for tea one afternoon. She had finally mustered up enough courage to give them a call and invite them over to catch up and she was regretting it every passing second.
Natsu and her stayed on the phone till one in the morning the next day. Their phone call lasted around five hours and none of them knew till she was yawning and her eyelids felt heavy and Natsu had said goodnight to her. She had realized Natsu was actually very easy to talk to and fun. They had talked about nonsense for five hours straight. New things, old things, stupid things. He made her laugh and she made him laugh. She was shocked the next morning when she had woken up from promptly falling asleep mid-way in her phone conversation.
She's never done this before.
His encouragement was what got her to call her girlfriends and invite them over. She was shaking in her seat as her maids had shown them the way in the garden, her stomach dropping at the sight of Levy and Cana walking over towards her.
She mustered up the best fake smile she could pull and stood up, embracing her two childhood friends before she ushered them to take a seat. The conversation was very light in the beginning, catching up with how are yous and I missed yous. Then they started to chastise Lucy for going MIA for almost four months and the blonde was sheepish, laughing lightly and sweating heavier as her heart pounded inside of her chest. She wished she could have just told them over the phone to avoid this all but she knew they would have had to meet in person sooner than later.
The tea was poured and snacks were picked at until the real tea was served.
Cana and Levy both did a spit-take, spitting Luke-warm tea out everywhere and Lucy shrieked, feeling the wetness hitting her everywhere.
Levy was coughing up her lungs, pounding on her chest as Cana looked at her with such crazy eyes Lucy felt like she had to guard herself for a fist or even a teacup.
"You're what?!" Cana's screams scared birds that flew away from their area. "Getting married?!"
"A—are you serious?!" Levy squeaked, face red as she wiped her mouth.
Lucy was only beet red, quiet and looking like she was about to cry and Levy and Cana could only exchange dumbfounded looks before looking back at the Heartfillia heiress.
It was quiet for a long time until the three of them started to giggle and burst into fits of laughter, toppled over and tears streaming down their cheeks. It felt like eternity that they were laughing and they were begging one another to stop since it started to hurt and later than sooner, they were calming down and sighing out loud in content.
"So, is he cute?" Cana asked, leaning in with a mischievous grin on her face. Levy didn't pretend she wasn't interested as she leaned in as well, eyes wide.
Lucy fanned herself and she could only laugh lightly. "He… is."
Levy and Cana cooed at this as they exchanged yet another look before looking back at their friend.
"Speaking of that…" Lucy cleared her throat, trying to get it all over with as she took a sip of her tea to lubricate her throat. "Are you two free this Saturday? He invited me to his basketball game and said I can bring you two."
"He plays basketball?" Levy asked, eyes wide in awe.
"Hell yeah I'm there!" Cana whooped, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm going to find myself a cutie husband, too!"
Lucy and Levy could only giggle at their friend's excitement and Lucy was feeling so much better now. She wasn't so stiff anymore and sweaty since her friends were told about her arrangement and she suddenly felt so silly about worrying so much. Her friends seem happy and even excited for her after her demeanor wasn't gloomy and Lucy had now felt a new sense of purpose in her arrangement.
It wasn't all too bad anymore as she spoke about it and spoke about him. Her girlfriends made her blush when she spoke about how tall he was and how sassy he is and they were all giggling along, sipping tea.
But now that this was accomplished, Lucy had another stressor in her life beside this entire wedding. It was meeting Natsu's friends and basketball teammates and the hardest part: showing up.
She felt like throwing up the morning of. She was so excited and jittery the entire week, looking forward to seeing him the upcoming weekend and she thought about the many outfits she would try on to see what was most appropriate. But when she woke up that morning, she felt nervous as hell. Her heart was pounding the moment she woke up with thoughts of seeing her boyfriend and she was sitting in her tub till the water ran cold and she tried too many hairstyles for her liking. She went through such a phase of screaming into her pillow and throwing her hairbrush and crying in her closet.
She felt embarrassed to be so nervous and to put so much thought into something as silly as seeing her boyfriend at his basketball game but she felt the sense of fear wash over her.
So while she tried on four different dresses, five skirts, six tops, and finally landed on a cute outfit, she was fiddling with shoes for thirty minutes.
She didn't want anyone to see her or even know why she was so anxious and trying to put many considerations to everything she was wearing and she banged her head against the wall for a few seconds.
Standing in front of her mirror with yet another pleated skirt (vividly remembering how Natsu commented about how he liked her tennis outfit) with an off the shoulder sweater, Lucy tied the laces on her platform sneakers. She stood for a bit, pulling her hair up to drop it to pull it up again into a half pony to drop it all. She let out a groan and pressed her forehead against the mirror until her girlfriends had arrived.
Levy had come as casually as she can, dressed in jeans and a long sleeve with a vest over top to keep her warm. Cana wore something more provocative, possibly to catch attention from her future husband, as she wore tight jeans and a low cut blue crop top with a cardigan shrugged on.
Lucy suddenly felt a lot better about her outfit and she immediately bursted into a blush when they had started to tease her.
—X—
Natsu was surprised as much as anybody else that he had managed to snag her phone number and call her. Granted he had asked for her number days prior and he had to fight with himself if he should call or not. It wasn't until he had seen her in her wedding dress that he was desperate to call and he had paced around his room for a while before he did call. He was more surprised she sounded so upset over the phone and he wondered if it was because of him but that was soon thrown out the door when she was giggling over the phone.
It made his cheeks warm and pride swell that he was making her laugh and having her engaged in conversation.
There were a couple of awkward silences and he struggled to find the right words to say but he patted himself on the back for carrying the conversation.
Eventually he was just aimlessly walking around, asking questions, laughing, and talking about whatnot as she engaged happily. He was slowly learning things about her and he didn't realize how easy it was to talk to her. She was witty and able to hold a conversation without it getting weird.
He found himself enjoying their phone call as he did the oddest things.
Fiddling with his desk, walking up and down the stairs and around his large home, organizing his bathroom just because, and laying in his bed kicking his leg back and forth.
Before he knew it, it was almost one in the morning and Lucy had started to grow quiet and he could hear the soft snores. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face and wished her a good night, listening to her peaceful breathing for a few more minutes before he hung up.
And now as he woke up to the day where he would see her again, he was in a good mood. He was fired up for his basketball game and fired up to see his girlfriend for once. He was determined to show off his skills on the court and he was honestly ready to show off his hot girlfriend to his friends.
He always knew Lucy was good looking. He knew from the moment he had laid eyes on her that she was a pretty little thing. He just was so blindsided by rage and annoyance at the time but he did appreciate her looks. Her parents did a great job producing her. Her attitude could be improved a bit but she was sassy and feisty in a good way.
He was also a bit nervous in a sense he didn't know how things were going to go today and she was going to bring her friends along so it made him more nervous to meet them. He wasn't nervous that they wouldn't like him but more nervous what Lucy would think if they didn't like him.
So as he showered and got dressed for his game, he wasn't even mad that his own mother was lecturing him about whatever bullshit she had to say that morning. He just agreed easily and ate his breakfast (lunch) and said his goodbyes before he was out the door.
Gray and Erza were already there, stretching and warming up while he pulled up. Gajeel didn't acknowledge him like always so Natsu didn't bother saying anything either. He looked around for a certain ginger and sighed when he saw him on the other side of the court chatting it up with some women. He greeted Jellal with a dap-up and then waved at Mirajane and Lisanna while he bumped shoulders with their brother. Juvia barely acknowledged him as she was too busy eye-fucking her sweet beloveded who stretched and spoke with Erza and Gajeel.
"Full house, huh?" Natsu said as he dropped his duffle and ruffled his locks. "I didn't know Mira and Lis would be coming."
"If Elfman is here, they are here." Gray rolled his eyes while he stretched his shoulders out. "Lis was asking when you were coming." He smirked and Natsu could only roll his eyes as he began to stretch as well.
"Well, I'm about to be a married man."
"Does anyone else know about Lucy?" Erza leaned in to whisper and Natsu shook his head.
"They will today."
"She's coming?" Gray sounded surprised, seeing how Natsu just shrugged and went back to stretching.
"I invited her, so."
"You did?"
"Are you two getting along now?" Erza smiled and Natsu just shrugged once more, trying his best not to blush and get worked up about it. "Do you think she'll come?"
"She said she will. Said she's bringing friends."
"Hopefully she brings someone cute." Gray muttered and Natsu was now snickering.
"What? Juvia ain't cutting it for you anymore?"
"Shut the hell up," Gray flushed red, looking flustered.
"Don't be dissing water-woman like that," Gajeel came to sneer at the ink-haired baller. Gray just glared at him, clicking his tongue. "I'll fuck you up."
"Shut the hell up metal-face," Gray growled, balling his fists up. "I ain't doing anything to Juvia so back up."
"Could we maybe do this after the game?" Natsu asked and he was ignored while the two went at it, barking like dogs.
Erza eventually got them to shut up as she separated them, punching Gajeel right in the gut while kicking Gray with her heel. The two were on the ground whimpering in pain while Natsu bent down to touch his toes. When he was standing back up he was delighted to see his girlfriend nervously walking in with two girls by her side.
Before he even got the chance to call out her name, she was immediately surrounded by Sabertooth and his stupid teammate, Loke was running towards them and it made his smile drop to a frown and he was pissed.
"What are a couple of beautiful women like yourselves wandering around?" A tall green-haired had approached the three and Levy and Lucy were instantly blushing.
Cana was a bit more confident in this atmosphere and stepped forward, eyeing the tall one up and down. "We heard there's a couple of hotties passing balls around so we wanted to see if the rumors were true."
"Well, are they?"
Cana looked him up and down one more time and then smirked. "Maybe."
"Are you here to cheer on our team?" A blonde one had now stepped forward, his eyes darting from all three faces to finally land on his fellow blonde. "Names Sting." He had held his hand out right to Lucy and she was taken back by his gesture. "What's yours?"
"Lucy?" Turning to see who had now tried to talk to them, Lucy was surprised to see Loke standing there staring right at her.
"Loke?" She stepped forward to get a better look. "What are you doing here?"
"It is you!" He instantly smiled wide and wrapped his arms around her petite figure to hug her and spin her around. Lucy could only squeal and scream at him to put her down. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, I—uh—" Lucy turned to look at her girlfriends nervously and when she turned back to look at Loke she was startled to see her fuming boyfriend right behind him. "Natsu!"
"You came to see Natsu?" Loke asked, confused and he jumped half a mile when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. "Jesus, Natsu! Don't scare a brother like that!"
Lucy fidgeted in her spot in nervousness as Natsu leaned in to whisper something to him, his dark piercing eyes never leaving hers and Loke was quick to disappear without another word and it was just them now. She felt her heart drop to her stomach and she could feel her face grow hot.
"H—hey." She cleared her throat. "Hi."
"Hey," he said right back and it was quiet between them. "How do you know Loke?"
"Family friend…" She muttered and she was worried she had pissed him off by the way his eyebrows were knitted together.
"Natsu!" Sting had a cocky grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around Lucy's shoulders and the blonde immediately stiffened up while Natsu's eyebrow raised. "She's mine. I met her first." He smirked and Natsu looked even more annoyed as he crossed his arms. "You don't want to waste time with him." Sting turned to look at Lucy who was gawking. "You should come sit over at saber's side. I'll get ya a nice seat."
"I—I think I'm okay," Lucy's eyes darted from Natsu's face back to Stings. "I came to cheer on Fairy Tail, actually."
"What? They suck."
"Right here, you know." Natsu said but Sting didn't pay any attention to him.
"Why cheer them on when you can cheer on winners? Come on, it'll be fun. You can bring your friends along." He nudged his head over to where Cana and Levy were still talking with his teammates. "I'm sure you'd be glad when the game is over that you're sitting with the winning team."
Natsu opened his mouth to say something insulting back or even throw a punch but Lucy had beat him to it as she pushed Sting off of her and she glared at him. Natsu just shut his mouth to see how it played off.
"You're pretty cocky for someone who doesn't even know who I am." She scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
"I could get to know you," he smiled, taking another step towards her. "You're the Heartfillia Heiress, right? Eucliffe. My father is a big part of the light industry. Twin Dragon?"
Lucy raised an uninterested brow his way and he let out a small chuckle, stepping forward. "Anyways, besides our families, I'd love to get to know you more. Take you out. My friend's say I'm a good time. What do you say?"
"Sorry, bud," Lucy held her hand up to his face as he inched back closer. "I'm actually here to cheer on my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" Sting asked in confusion, seeing how Lucy pushed past him. "Who's your boyfriend?"
"Me." Natsu finally spoke up as Lucy came over to his side. He didn't hesitate to swing his arm around her shoulder and now smirk, pulling her to his side. He could see how her face glowed deep crimson and he tried his best to ignore it while he watched Sting's expression change into a shocked one. "So, if you'd excuse us, she has a team worth cheering for." He snickered at his dumbfounded expression before pulling Lucy away.
He looked down to see Lucy avoiding his gaze while her cheeks were painted a light pink and he just wanted to kiss her.
"He's such a prick." Lucy was first to say, a pout and a frown on her lips. "Are all your friends like this?"
"He's not my friend." Natsu said, scoffing. "Cousin."
Lucy stopped them from walking any further, her eyes wide. "What? He's your cousin? As in… blood?" She gawked and he nodded, confused.
"That dark-haired one is too." He pointed at the one that was talking with Sting. "He's more of a step-cousin though. His dad married Sting's mom when we were kids."
"So you and Sting are related?"
"Yes," Natsu sighed. "Is that shocking for you?"
"No," Lucy shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "It makes sense. You two are both cocky assholes."
"Wow, thanks." He rolled his eyes and she was giggling.
"Let me grab my friends."
Natsu watched her jog over to where her friends were getting hounded and he had a small smile on his face as he watched her hips sway and how her long legs carried her. He liked the pleated skirt she had on and watched her say something to her friends before pointing right at him and he went stiff when he saw them turn to look at him. And now they were walking over towards him and he felt nervous as his eyes caught his girlfriend's once more.
"Guys, this is Natsu. Natsu, this is Levy," she motioned towards the short blue-haired one who was staring at him in awe, eyes wide. "And Cana." His eyes then landed on the brunette who offered a wide smile and a hand his way.
"Well, you weren't kiddin' Lucy, he is cute!"
"Cana!" Lucy hissed, yanking her by the arm to flush red.
Natsu couldn't help but smile at that, seeing how Lucy yanked her friend close to whisper into her ear. Lucy could only groan and shove her friends to walk towards the benches after Cana had something else for her to grow even redder and they were giggling and teasing her while she cried out.
Natsu decided he liked her friends and they came where the rest of his teammates were.
"Hey, Lucy!" Erza was first to say, smiling wide. "Nice to see you, again!"
"Hi Erza!" Lucy smiled brightly, coming forward. "Hi Gray!"
Gray offered his hand up to her with a smile and went back to tying his shoes.
"This is Lucy's friends, Cana and Levy." Natsu said as the two other women waved at his friend group. "This is Lisanna and Mirajane, sisters of Elfman." He pointed at the silver-haired trio who waved. "Elfman is on the team. Mirajane subs in if she needs to. That's Gajeel," he pointed at the one who was laying on the bench, ignoring them all. "And that's Jellal," He pointed at the blue-haired one with the tattoo on his face. "And that's Loke." He pointed at the ginger who was chatting up some woman down further. "And the one next to Gray is Juvia and finally, everyone, this is Lucy." He finally finished his introduction, making all eyes turn to the blonde who was next to him.
Lucy felt shy as she offered a small wave where everyone greeted her with such warm welcomes.
"Natsu, I didn't know you invited girls to watch you play." Mirajane was teasing already and he was rolling his eyes.
"Of course I'd invite my girlfriend to come watch," he snorted and the entire crowd looked like he had just admitted to murder. Lucy could only narrow her eyes at him and she cursed him for knowing what kind of position she was going to be in once he had left.
Shouts of confusion and shock echoed and Lucy was now beet red once more while Levy and Cana nudged her, snickering at her flustered expression while Natsu tried his best to ignore the noise.
He was grateful for the whistle Erza had blown to gather the teams and Natsu was offering his girlfriend a wide smile with a hand up. "Have fun with all the questions!"
"You're really going to leave me to fend for myself?" She whispered, grabbing onto his arm so he couldn't leave.
"Not my problem." He tried to wiggle free but her grip tightened, pulling him closer.
"It will be when I tell them about you." She now smirked and he stopped to give her a look.
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
"What could you possibly say? They're my friends—"
"I'm going to tell them you have the world's smallest dick." She said and Natsu scoffed.
"Go ahead. They already know that's not true."
Lucy turned red, gawking at the smirking one. "Fine! Then I'll tell them… you cry every time after sex! And you can only get off with the lion king playing in the background and how you sound like a dying whale when you climax!"
Natsu gripped her arm and pulled her close, blushing red and trying his best to look scary but he was too focused on how close she was. "If you fucking tell them some stupid shit like that I'm going to—"
"Natsu! Are you done kissing your girlfriend?! We're waiting on you!" Gray had shouted across the court making the two turn and look at him with horrified looks on their faces.
Lucy and Natsu looked around to see everyone was staring at them and the blonde was quick to pull away but Natsu pulled her right back to whisper in her ear. "Keep your mouth shut."
"Or what?" She growled, trying to jerk free but his grip tightened. "Ouch, that hurts!"
"Just be a good girl and listen to your husband." He let her go to smirk at her red face. He blew her a kiss and she was scowling, waving her arms in the arm in frustration while he jogged over to the court.
Lucy just wanted to scream and punch him in the face. She knew it was too good to be true. And she wanted to scream that he wasn't her husband—yet—but she kept that to herself.
While she took a seat on the front bench by her girlfriends, she took a deep breath as she knew the questions were coming. As she watched Erza explain the rules to the teams, she wasn't surprised when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see icy blue eyes burning into her soul and she offered a weak smile.
"So, you're Natsu's girlfriend?"
"The one and only!" Cana had answered for her, a wide prideful smile on her face.
"Her and Natsu are so cute." Levy had joined in and Lucy just wanted to die.
"How long have you been dating?" Lisanna asked, leaning in and studying the blonde. Lucy felt nervous under their gazes and she swallowed, looking back over at the courtyard to see Natsu giving her a hard look and she turned back to his friends.
"Not long. Just a couple months."
"How'd you two meet?" Mira asked. She looked less suspicious of her but more intrigued, eyes wide and a bright smile on her lips.
"Through our parents." Lucy coughed, trying to keep it simple and light. "So, how'd you guys meet Natsu?" She tried to change the subject but they ignored her question.
"So, how did Natsu ask you out?"
Lucy just wanted to burst into flames right then and there.
—X—
Lucy couldn't say she had the worst time in the world. She didn't know much about basketball but she knew enough to know Natsu was good at it.
After a moment of being interrogated by his friends and realizing that she was actually his girlfriend, they accepted it and moved on to watch the game. Mira had explained that Sabertooth was a rival of Fairy Tail and this was a big game for everyone. Sabertooth was undefeated and so was Fairy Tail which means this game determined who would be the winner of this season.
The game started off hard. The ball being tossed around and players getting knocked down for Erza to implement discipline. It seemed as if Natsu was the main aggressor, shoving down Sting and trying his best to overpower him the entire game. Sabertooth was shouting back and forth between Erza and Natsu, trying to claim the game was rigged but Erza just went back to shouting at the boys.
She was shivering slightly since the crisp autumn air was nipping at her skin and the sun was going down but she tried her best to stay warm by running her hands up and down her arms and legs.
Cana and Levy had scooted closer to her, providing their body heat which she was grateful for. Cana tried to shove her canteen to the heiress but Lucy refused, not wanting to get drunk in front of Natsu or his friends the first time she had met them.
Her eye caught his many times during the game, a small smile appearing on her lips while he grinned at her. Lucy was delighted to see Natsu playing basketball, finding it very attractive while Cana shamelessly cheered for 'the cute ones.'
Nobody knew which team she was referring to.
Levy had gotten to talking to Juvia, the two bonding over their odd colored hair and talking about the game. Levy was a big sports fan and Juvia was only a large sports fan because her darling Gray was into sports. Lisanna soon joined in the conversation and it all came to a debate of what sport was the best.
"Juvia likes swim the best. Juvia has been doing water aerobics since she was a little girl."
"I like tennis. I have played since I was in middle school." Lucy said, making Lisanna perk up.
"I love tennis!" Lisanna smiled widely, leaning in. "We should play together one time!"
"She sucks at tennis, Lis, don't waste your time."
Turning to see sweaty Natsu come up to the group, he had a smirk on his lips as he looked at the gawking blonde.
"I am not bad at tennis!" She swatted at him, growling. "Stop saying that!"
"That's not nice to say about your girlfriend, Natsu," Mira scolded as the male rolled his eyes.
"I'm not going to lie to her just 'cause she's my girl," He said, making Lucy flush at his words. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I lied to her?" He looked at Lucy who looked away, scowling.
"Shouldn't you be playing or something?" She grumbled under her breath, arms crossed and a shiver running up her spine. She felt Levy place a hand on her leg and she offered a smile to her as Natsu had squatted down to dig through his duffle that was shoved under the benches.
"It's halftime and I need my water bottle," he muttered before he pulled out what he needed and a hoodie. He tossed it to the blonde who barely caught it, the sleeve slapping her in the face as she glared at him. "There. Now you can stop shivering like some sad wet chihuahua."
Lucy could only blush and scowl, refusing to meet his eyes as she reluctantly took purchase of his hoodie. He smirked at her and ran off, offering a hand up to his friends before joining the group that was huddled over by Jellal.
"He gave you his hoodie," Levy nudged Lucy who was still struggling to process the act as she stared down at the red hoodie in her lap. "That's romantic."
"Natsu is sweet like that," Mira had said, making the three turn and look at the older Strauss sibling. "His attention to detail is very keen." She smiled at Lucy who just pouted. "But, he's probably been watching you a lot since you're here. Natsu has never invited a girl to one of his games or introduced a girl to his friends. You're kind of a big deal."
"Really?" Lucy asked, turning to look at the group where they drank and spoke back and forth. "Why doesn't he bring girls around?"
"He says he doesn't care for the fangirls," Lisanna giggled. "Natsu's pretty popular."
"But don't be discouraged, Lucy," Mira was quick to add as Lucy scrunched her face up. "You probably mean a lot to him if he asked you to come. And he gave you his hoodie!"
"The hoodie is a pretty big deal." Cana had piped in making Lucy roll her eyes.
"It's just a hoodie, guys. He saw that I was cold."
"Natsu doesn't like people touching his things." Mira had a sly smile on her face.
"Natsu doesn't even let me touch his things and I've known him since we were eight!" Lisanna cried out and Juvia was now laughing.
"Remember how mad he got when you wore his sweats without asking?"
"Elfman pushed me in the water and got all my clothes wet! And I didn't even know it was his until he was going off about it!" Lisanna turned red, shouting at the blue-haired one who giggled. Levy was now asking questions, trying to get more information on Natsu while Cana was teasing Lucy who kept nudging her to stop.
Her hands were shaking as she stared at the hoodie in her lap and she scowled, a part of her refusing to accept such a thing from him but another part of her was screaming for her to put it on since she was cold. The hoodie would be long enough to reach her mid-thigh which would be enough for her to warm up before they were to leave. It would also be suspicious of her to refuse to wear her own boyfriend's hoodie and while Cana and Levy knew about their arrangement, his friends didn't.
So Lucy pushed her pride aside and pulled on the hoodie and she was bright red as she caught his toothy grin and she was scowling as she pulled her knees up and pouted into the night.
—X—
The game had come to an end when the sun went down and the world was an orange and red glow. Fairy Tail had won, forty nine to forty six. The entire court was echoing in screams and chants as Sabertooth screamed about how they cheated and the game was rigged. It resulted in a fist fight shortly after as Natsu threw the first punch, clocking Sting in the face and for someone to come back full force.
Lucy, Cana, and Levy were all gawking, wondering if this needs to be stopped but nobody seemed bothered by it as they started to get their things together.
When they looked back, nobody was at each other's throats anymore with Erza digging her heel into Gajeel's and Sting's back.
Lucy was confused when Sting and Natsu were now shaking hands, wide grins on their faces and words being exchanged before they had separated. He made his way over to where they were with the rest of Fairy Tail and her heart skipped a beat when she made eye contact with him.
"You guys hungry?" He asked and Levy was first to jump up.
"Starving!"
"Great," he reached down to grab his duffle. "Sabertooth is going to meet us at 8island for some drinks and food if everyone is down."
"Booze? I'm there!" Cana now jumped up as well, a wide grin on her face. "I call shotgun!" She cheered while she began to chat excitedly with Mirajane once more. Levy had followed, shouting at Cana that it was her turn to sit up front since she sat up front when they arrived and they were running like little kids, trying to see who could reach Lucy's car first.
Lucy just sighed and turned to look at her boyfriend who smirked at her. His eyes dragging up her body while she started to cover herself up. "Stop looking at me like that!"
"You look cute in my hoodie."
"No, I don't, shut up." She turned her head away and he was snickering.
"I see you survived twenty-one questions with my friends." He said while they began to walk towards the group who were all starting for the parking lot.
"They weren't too bad," Lucy said, fiddling with her sleeves that were too long on her. "I didn't mention anything about the arranged marriage."
"Good," he said, adjusting his strap on his shoulder. "Kind of don't want to deal with that right now."
"Levy and Cana know, though."
"That's fine," he shrugged. "It's not really a secret. You can tell your friends whatever, I'm not going to tell you you can't."
Lucy just nodded, feeling flustered around her boyfriend who had come into the parking lot to unlock his car and toss his bag in the trunk. "You drove here?" He asked, turning to look at Lucy who nodded. She pointed at her SUV where Cana and Levy were shoving each other, trying to fight for the front seat as Mirajane giggled. They watched how Gajeel had come up to them and saw how red Levy got with whatever he had said and she was shouting at him while Cana howled with laughter.
"Maybe I should help Levy," Lucy said, concerned about her best friend who was red to the face and shouting.
"I wouldn't," Natsu stuck his arm out to stop her. "You're just going to get caught in the crossfire."
"He looks like he's bullying my friend."
"He always looks like that," Natsu snorted and he closed his trunk door to look over where Gajeel was smirking while holding his hand right above her head while she threw her arms around. "He thinks she's cute."
"You're lying," Lucy gawked, crossing her arms across her chest. "He's not her type."
"You'd be surprised." Natsu mused as he looked over at his girlfriend. "Want to ride with me?"
"I told you I drove here."
"Have one of your friends drive."
"Cana's drunk."
"What?" Natsu sounded surprised as he looked back over to see the brunette who was barking out in laughter with Mirajane and Lisanna.
"Cana likes to partake in… extracurriculars." Lucy pursed her lips, unsure how to explain it. "But she can't drive."
"Then have Levy drive."
"Why do you want me to drive with you so badly?" She smiled, looking over at her boyfriend who smiled right back. "Missed me or something?"
"I figured you'd want to drive with your cute boyfriend," he smirked and she looked dumbfounded while she blinked. "Since you're telling your friends I'm cute and all."
Lucy flushed crimson, sputtering nonsense as he laughed out loud. "I—I did not! I told you! She drinks! She's just saying that because she's drunk!"
"Drunk words are sober thoughts," he teased and he was guarding himself as she swatted at him.
"You're ridiculous! I'm not riding with you!" She cried out and she was stomping away from him.
Natsu could only watch with a smile on his lips, his arms crossing against his chest while his cute girlfriend was now part of the little argument going on between the group.
He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Especially in his hoodie.
In some way, he could feel butterflies.