Chapter Three – The Wise Words of a 'Friend'

"Woow." Gray drawled. He stood behind their kitchen counter as Natsu sat opposite trying to nonchalantly explain where he was going on holiday. Gray, having already received details through the grapevine, known as their gossip-loving friendship group, just seemed to be revelling in Natsu's obliviousness. "You're a fucking idiot."

Natsu scowled at him as he took a bite out of the pancake his flatmate had half-heartedly dropped on a plate for him. He thought back to the night before and tried to imagine it going any differently.

"Lucy, I've already said okay." Him and his big mouth and his absolute adoration for the blonde girl in front of him. She looked up at him from her spot on the bed, her large chestnut eyes searching his own for any sign of a lie. They held eye-contact for a split-second too long, so of course he had to add in that stupid joke about Ninjas. Of all things. If he held her gaze too long his mind would drift.

He knew it would.

As they settled into the nest of blankets and pillows to watch the rest of the film, they shook on it. Sealing the deal. Her hand was so much smaller than his. The neatly manicured pink of her nails a complete juxtaposition to his roughly cut short ones. Her hands were soft, as gentle as her. His were calloused and rough. Despite these differences, her hand seemed crafted to fit his. Natsu gave her hand a small squeeze to quell the uncertainty in her eyes as they shook, then let go to put an arm behind her.

They sat comfortably for the rest of the film.

As Lucy crawled out of the blankets to change films, she turned to face him. She had been unusually nervous tonight.

Lucy was a girl that usually exuded confidence. Though she seemed subdued when it was just the two of them, every move she made seemed sure and thought-out. She was the type of girl that saw something she wanted and would get it. Even during their club activities. Lucy wanted to win? You can bet your ass that she would train late until she felt she was ready to beat whichever opponent stood in her way.

But not tonight. Tonight she looked unsure of herself.

"Natsu." She started, looking up at him whilst picking at her nails. "I know you've said yes, and I know I've checked." She seemed to hesitate before continuing on with the next part of her sentence. "But my dad can be a real asshole."

Natsu felt his own expression shift at this. He was slightly taken aback. It was one of the first times Lucy has been so candid about her dad. She would sometimes make half-hearted jokes during conversations or add in the odd frustration here and there, but she'd never spoken about him with such blatant contempt in her voice.

"He has- he has a habit of making people feel less than they are, of making them feel small. Unworthy. " At this Lucy steeled her gaze. She had been on the receiving end of her father's venomous words too many times to count. She knew what it was like to try sharing something important only to be shot down with a sneer and hurtful comment about how she shouldn't behave like a child, getting excited over 'nonsensical things'. Her father would constantly berate her for her behaviour, whether it involved exploring the garden, taking photos, or soaking up the sun whilst writing. Lucy knew what it was like to be resigned to the fact that you will never be good enough. And that was why she didn't want Natsu to feel like that. Ever. Especially not at her expense.

"And I don't want you to have to listen to his- his bullshit!" She threw her hands in the air to enunciate and frowned as she continued. Lucy's expression dropped slightly, as she finished her sentence. "I don't want you to feel like you're not good enough ya know?"

Natsu paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond. He didn't particularly like the thought of Lucy's dad ripping him to shreds and saying he's not good enough for his daughter. He didn't need someone else to tell him that. He already knew. He knew he wasn't good enough for her. Which was why he would do his damn best to pretend to be. To try to be. His breath caught in his throat as he spoke with a seriousness he rarely showed.

"Luce, I'll be honest, I don't like the thought of that." Natsu saw her eyes drop as she visibly deflated. He shuffled forwards and leaned his head towards hers until their foreheads just barely touched. "But also, trust me."

He held his position for a few more seconds before he bumped their foreheads together and pulled away with a lopsided grin. "We're in our twenties now Luce. I've had a lotta people say they don't like me, in lotsa colourful ways."

Lucy furrowed her brow. How could anyone not like Natsu. Sure, he could be a bit boisterous sometimes, he lacked a couple of boundaries, and was a bit… unconventional but he was the best friend she'd ever had.

"Oi." Natsu gave her a light tap on the head. "None a' that. None a' that kicked puppy look."

Lucy skipped switching the DVD and plonked herself next to Natsu in the nest. Tucking her arm under his and placing her head on his shoulder she gave his arm a squeeze. She didn't need to say anything, he knew she was trying to comfort him without making him feel awkward. Natsu gave her a light squeeze back as a thank you. They settled in for the night and ending up falling asleep within the hour.

Natsu shook himself out of the memory and looked back up to face Gray. Crossing his arms, he slouched into his chair. "It'll be fine. She checked-"

"Dude. You're not just going with her. You're pretending to be her boyfriend." Gray interrupted with a pointed look on his face.

"Yeh, and?"

"'Yeh and?' dumbass" He mocked him as he spoke. "You're basically in love with the girl."

Natsu choked on a piece of pancake at this, chugging the last of his water to catch his breath. He wiped his mouth and started protesting, mumbling something about being 'best friends' again.

"Come ON Natsu." He sounded exasperated now. "You can lie to the others with your fake 'oblivious' act. But not to me. I've known you too long." Gray sported a smug look before letting out a sigh and spelling it out for him. "Since first year of Uni right?" Natsu still sported a carefully trained blank look on his face, so Gray continued. "Since we had that house party here?" Gray saw Natsu's eyebrow twitch and decided to push him just a little further.

"You're not great at hiding your emotions when drunk man. You were acting jealous and were draping yourself all-over her, I'm surprised you didn't try to plant a kiss on her there and then. You were absolutely pissed."

It was just a throwaway comment. Gray thought it might get under his skin and push him into telling him he likes her. However, it worked more than he anticipated. Natsu reached over the kitchen counter and shoved Gray backwards, his eyebrows furrowed and look of hurt plastered over his face.

"Shut up man, I wouldn't force a kiss on her."

Natsu huffed as he stared him down. Funnily enough Gray didn't retaliate as he usually did in their fights. In fact, it looked like he smiled? Gray crossed his arms across his chest and took a step back to lean against the cupboard behind him. Just slightly out of reach of Natsu as he spoke.

"So you admit. You do like her? Really like her?"

After getting no reply from Natsu, which was as good as getting a response to his question, Gray decided the idiot in front of him needed some actual advice. He looked a mess.

"Look, do what you want. But if you do like her, and I think you know you do, then are you really going to be okay acting as her boyfriend... then going back to 'normal' afterwards. Especially since your 'normal' is already pretty affectionate." Gray let the question hang in the air for a bit, watching Natsu take the question in before he continued. "It'll be harder to pretend you don't like her if you get used to being more intimate.

Natsu's face flushed as he whispered out. "Intimate?"

Gray raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face. "I don't want to know what you're thinking, so don't tell me. But yeah, how do you think couples act. Dude, you've seen Levy and Gajeel. They're all over each other, making out at every party ugh- but you'd be in a position where at least kissing is expected, surely."

Natsu's eyebrows knit together as Gray chuckled. "Well, whatever you decide it'll certainly be an interesting holiday. Wish I could be there to see it."

A groan passed his lips as he slumped his head onto the counter in front of him, dug his hands into his mess of pink hair, and tugged out of frustration. Maybe this was going to be a little harder than he thought.