"Do you think we should have nicknames for each other? It is our first wedding together after all."
Lucy was in a bathrobe, displaying different outfits for Natsu and Loke who were in her room on her bed.
"Luce, you know that as my girlfriend I think you're amazing... but do not wear that dress to Erza's wedding. She would kill me."
"Natsu's being too nice," Loke interjected."That is the ugliest thing I have ever seen."
Lucy's face dropped looking at the honey blonde and white dress she picked out before she sighed.
Flashback
"Do you know if Gray's coming to the wedding?" Loke asked, taking the carton of orange juice out the fridge and pouring it in a glass. The wedding invitation for the boys hung on the fridge by a rose magnet. Gajeel came in behind him and started drinking straight out of the carton while the blonde was focused on their friends.
"I think the bastard is trolling me," Natsu stared frustratedly at his phone. "He sends me a bunch of texts in french knowing I can't understand 'em."
"Or, you know... maybe you could if you used Google translate," Lucy deadpanned. "I mean it's literally right there, at your disposal."
Gajeel walked over to Natsu who was seated on a stool by the counter and looked over the pinkette's shoulder at his phone. He paused for a moment.
"He isn't coming," Gajeel said plainly before taking another swivel from the carton. "Apparently he's already told Erza too, so she knows."
Natsu whipped his head around.
"What?!"
"That's what his texts said," Gajeel shrugged. "Also, he called you a dumbass cause he figured you wouldn't think to use Google translate."
"Since when could you speak french?" Loke wondered aloud.
"You don't know everything about me."
"How could he not be coming to the wedding?!" Natsu continued. "I mean, me, him and Erza have been like the three musketeers for years!"
"Ummm, him, Erza and I," Lucy corrected.
"What?"
"It's just that you said me, him and Erza when it's actually supposed to be him, Erza and I. Sorry, that's just the English teacher in me."
Natsu glared at her as she smiled shyly.
"Honestly, you can't really blame him," Loke interjected. "He lives like a day away and that's a long flight there and back just for a weekend."
"Shit..." Natsu's head spun as if he had just been possessed. He turned to Loke. "Do you know who is going to be at the wedding?"
Gajeel and Lucy watched him in curiosity. Loke scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.
"Lisanna," Natsu finished.
Loke's eyebrows shot to his hairline. He had completely forgotten about that. Lisanna shared so many mutual friends with the guys that they were bound to see her at just about every wedding, funeral and get together for the rest of their natural lives. Loke turned to Gajeel and the two of them shared concerned looks.
Natsu put his face in his hands and groaned.
"What are you guys going to do?" Lucy patted Natsu's back for support.
Loke looked at the two them and suddenly, a giant smile grew on his face.
"No nicknames," Loke instructed. "Look Lucy, your only job tonight is to look pretty and be Natsu's arm candy to keep him and Lisanna away from each other."
"Well, why can't you guys help?"
"Oh, we've tried," Loke scoffed. "He's long since stopped listening to the rest of us."
Flashback
Loke came home from a long day's work to a silent home. As he walked to his room, he caught sight of Natsu through a crack in his door, on his bed with his hoodie on. He was scrolling through old pictures of him and Lisanna on his laptop.
Loke sighed and then knocked on his door.
"She's not coming back man."
Natsu looked wildly at him.
"You don't know that."
"Yeah, he's right I don't," Natsu deadpanned.
"Once, he ran into her at a party while I was in Hargeon 8 months ago," Gajeel walked over to the bed. "And he sent me a 10 page email about what he thought she meant when she said, see you soon."
"Trust me Lucy, it's bad," Loke continued.
Lucy looked over to Natsu who sat in silence. She also noticed he didn't refute any of what was said.
"Just do as we tell you, and everything will be fine."
"Lucy do me a favor, try not to... talk too much..." Natsu asked rubbing his temples. He really wasn't looking forward to any possible encounter with his ex and having Lucy as his babysitter didn't exactly instill confidence in him.
Lucy scoffed, highly offended. "Are you saying that I talk too much?"
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying that you don't?"
Lucy wanted to say something, but her mind went absolutely blank.
Okay so maybe he had her there.
Lucy walked in her closet and brought out another dress for the boys' approval.
"Come on Lucy," Loke groaned. "You need to wear a dress that when I see you, I'll want to say 'who let the dirty slut out of the slut house?'"
"Well you've been rejecting all of my favorite dresses," Lucy said from behind the closet doors with a sigh. She finally unveiled herself. "What about this?"
Lucy shyly walked out of her closet, this time wearing a small violet dress. It was single sleeved, with fake lilies attached to the strap going over Lucy's left shoulder. The dress had a darker purple band around her waist and it scrounged up around her lower half making her body look more curvaceous than usual. She had her hair piled over her right shoulder in elegant ringlet curves. She wore dramatic mascara and a winged eyeliner, and save for the darker lipgloss she wore, her make was more of a natural glam.
She blushed at the boys' outright gawking.
Natsu's mouth hung slightly agape.
"Lucy... you're... gorgeous..."
Lucy's cheeks went from a light pink to a cherry red, her heart drumming in her chest. She barely heard it. His voice was barely above a whisper. She wasn't even sure he realized what he was saying.
"Um... I think this might be one of Cana's old ones..." she offered nervously.
As the two of them stared at each other, their own personal pocket dimension was interrupted by Loke.
"Now who let the dirty slut out of the slut house?" he said with a proud smile.
After a moment, Lucy looked down and closed the closet door behind her before turning back around.
"Okay, so I know that at wedding receptions, they like to play 'Cupid Shuffle' a lot, but I always like to do the chicken dance to the Cupid shuffle. I feel like it's more fun that way!" She stated excitedly. "Oh! But not just any chicken dance, I like to do a little beak peck instead of the butt wiggle because I feel like it's more realistic."
She then went on to demonstrate what she meant.
Natsu pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "This is so gonna be a disaster..."
"No Lucy! No chicken dance!" Loke shouted. "And honestly no offense, but we don't need you to act like yourself tonight. Like... at all."
Lucy's jaw dropped, taking offense to his words. "Hey!"
"Look you can't do anything weird at the wedding, because if you do anything off kilted at this woman's nuptials, she'll have our asses cause we're the ones who brought you," Natsu explained.
"This woman used to be called 'Ball Buster' in her law school days," Loke added. "Because she's put a number of guys in the hospital by kicking them square in the balls," Loke's face was covered in terror.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "You guys are such drama queens."
"She busts balls as a hobby Luce," Natsu deadpanned
"She's definitely a ball buster," Gajeel interjected, his figure leaning from the doorframe.
"You guys are sissies," Lucy shook her head. "I'm sure she's not that bad."
"Can we hurry this up? I'm in the wedding party so I can't be late," Gajeel said, fixing his bowtie.
Natsu finally broke his gaze away from Lucy for the first time to give Gajeel a look.
"Dude, you're the usher. Relax."
"Yeah how did Gajeel land the usher job anyway?" the blonde asked. "I think he might break out in hives if his face is stuck in a smile for too long."
"Gajeel's probably going to look all those guests in the eye, and tell 'em to scram," Loke added.
"Guys, guys, cool it," Natsu said waving his hands around. "Gajeel's like... the most helpful guy I know. If he ever saw a woman struggling to carry her bags on the freeway, he'd probably lean out the side of his car, and tell her to try harder."
The trio laughed hardily at their own jokes while Gajeel stared at them plainly, thoroughly unamused.
"Okay ha ha," he said dryly. "NONE of you are funny."
The pierced man, slicked his hair back staring at his reflection in Lucy's mirror. "And anyway, a job is a job. At least then I won't have to answer stupid questions like 'hey Gajeel, what're doing now?' Or, 'how's football in Hargeon?' I mean, does it look like I'm still playing oversees football you jackasses!"
The other looked silently on as Gajeel went on his mini rant.
"Okay, calm down man..."
Wedding
At the wedding venue, the quartet walked in and awed at the scenery of the booked out hotel lobby.
Lucy suddenly gasped.
"Ooohhh! They have bubbles as party favors!" She cried as she scurried over to the table with elegant beige party favors.
"No Lucy," Natsu said, already exasperated as he grabbed her arm. "Those are for kids. No adults blow bubbles."
Lucy pouted.
"But- but-"
"No buts," he asserted, linking his arm with Lucy's in a couple-y manner to prevent her from wandering off again (but also because he wanted to). Gajeel waved them goodbye as he quickly ventured off to be in position.
Loke on the other hand was enjoying the scenery. In more than one sense.
"I see a lot of fine specimens in here today," he said as he shamelessly stared at a woman's ass as she walked by. When Natsu and Lucy caught up to him, his eyes were locked in one direction.
"There's Millianna."
"Who?" asked Lucy.
"He's been into her since freshman year of college," Natsu informed her. "She used to get drunk and pass out on our porch at 3am. It was like having a hot, alcoholic cat."
"I used to leave water out for her in a tin bowl," Loke added quickly. "Anyway, she's going at the top of my kill list."
Lucy blinked in confusion.
"And by kill list... do you mean you're going to attempt to kill these women by sleeping with them?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, exactly."
"Awwwww Loke," Lucy cooed. "One day you're going to kill the nicest girl!"
At the ceremony venue out on the lawn, Loke put his signature on the canvas portrait of the happy couple before coyly putting his Sharpie back in his suit. Not too far away, stood a blonde and pinkette.
"Well look at my Natsu," Lucy cooed, tugging at the man's tie. "He looks so handsome in his big-boy tie. Who's a big boy? Who's a big boy?"
Natsu took her wrists and roughly yanked them away.
"Lucy please," he said impatiently.
Lucy recoiled at his snappiness and was frozen shocked for a few moments. "Okay... what is your problem?! It's like you're a different person."
"I'm really nervous to see Lisanna okay? I don't need you talking to me like a pet on top of that." And with that, he walked away.
"That's what I love most about our relationship," she said dryly. "You never let me be myself."
Standing nearby in the middle of the aisle was Gajeel in his white tuxedo, gesturing the guests to empty rows.
"Gajeel!"
The usher turned around to see a seated guest waving at him. It was Warren. He smiled and walked over to him, slapping his hand in Warren's, sliding it then gripping it as a form of a handshake.
"I can't believe you're back from Hargeon! Haven't seen you ages!"
Gajeel chuckled. "Yeah, I just got back not too long ago."
"So how's football? Where're you working now?"
The raven haired man paused.
"I'm working... here..." he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "As an usher..."
Warren looked confused.
"Now if you'll excuse me..." Gajeel spun on his heel.
As he returned to his post, an old lady approached.
"Hey, are you with the bri-"
"-bride or groom?" came a voice from beside him. Gajeel looked down.
"Who the hell're you?"
"I'm Abel. Friend of the groom. Junior usher," said a pale boy, with a turban on and white tuxedo.
Gajeel's eyes popped out of his skull.
"Junior usher?!'
"Yes, yes," the boy said dismissively as he rushed forward to escort a young woman to her seat.
"Bride or groom?"
"Bride or groom?"
Gajeel rushed over, asking at the same time. The elderly woman didn't have a chance to answer either of them before Abel was escorting her to the bride's side, leaving Gajeel slack jawed. Abel turned around and stuck out his tongue which made Gajeel chuckle in anger.
"Oh it's on kid."
"Oh no..." Loke said as he turned around to the fake couple.
"What?"
"It's Risley. She's a terrible person. We can't stand each other," he said, looking right at an olive skinned, chubbier woman with curly black hair, who was wearing a tan pantsuit. "At every wedding we see each other at, we always end up having... sex."
He whispered the last word as if he was a five-year-old describing cooties, before then going on to describe his gross, spontaneous, sexual escapades with said woman at previous weddings in excruciating detail.
Natsu and Lucy looked at him in disgust.
"What? The sex is amazing."
They weren't any less perturbed.
"She's gonna mess up all my plans for Millianna!" Loke continued, noting the eminent threat.
"Gee Lucy, I think we have to go talk to those people... over there... that we know," Natsu said, as he ushered Lucy in a far off direction.
"What people?" Came her distant voice as they walked away.
"Risley," Loke said distastefully. "I see you wore the pantsuit."
"This one has more stretch," she walked over to Loke and put her lips to his ear. "In the pants area."
"Oh God no!" Loke yelled backing away from her mouth. "Risley listen to me, this has to stop. This isn't healthy... just please... no more." And with that he hurriedly walked away
As Natsu and Lucy sat in their designated seats for the ceremony, a familiar platinum blonde mane in the shape of a pixie cut leaned forward, sapphire eyes lighting up when she spotted the pinkette.
"Crap," Natsu started to panic. "She's- she's right over there," he whispered to Lucy trying to get up.
"Sit," Lucy whispered, grabbing him and pushing him back into the chair.
Lisanna approached the pair in her black dress, dark makeup and diamond earrings wearing a dazzling smile.
"Natsu! Hey!"
"Uh hey..." he trailed.
She looks ravishing... he thought.
"Ummm hello!" Lucy said loudly, latching onto Natsu's arm. She smiled brightly forcing laughter out her throat.
"Natsu?" She said in a fake posh accent. "You must introduce me!"
"Okay... Lisanna, this is Lucy-"
"His girlfriend," she interjected.
"-my girlfriend," he confirmed awkwardly.
Lisanna's eyebrows lifted up in realization.
"Oh..."
The blonde scooted closer to her roommate, basically engulfing his arm in the confines of her boobs. She propped her body sideways, showing off her hips and waist, and rested her head comfortably on his shoulder.
"Nice to meet you Lizzo."
"It's Lisanna," the woman corrected politely.
"Yes of course, Lingerie."
"No... it's Lisanna."
Lucy let out a fake chuckle."
"I am so sorry, of course Lasagna."
"Lisanna!" Natsu said aggravatedly from beside her. The blonde jumped at his sudden intensity as he gave her a look that said 'knock it off'. She took the hint.
"So... how long have you two been going out?" Lisanna asked shyly.
"Oh, we just started dating," Lucy started. "So we're still in our honeymoon phase. He can't keep his hands off me."
Both Natsu and Lisanna's eyes turned into the size of saucers. The pinkette swallowed thickly while the platinum blonde's eyebrows shot up.
She giggled coyly. "He says I'm the best he's ever had. My body's magic."
Natsu's cheeks became slightly pink as Lisanna stood there in an awkward silence. An expression of hurt flashed across her features.
"Okay, well I'll see you later," Lisanna chirped up, putting on a brave face and smiling before making a graceful exit. She didn't leave without one last wistful glance at the pinkette, a glance which the pair caught.
"Did you see that?" Natsu whispered excitedly to her. "She was so jealous!"
"You think so?"
"Yes!" He grabbed both of her upper arms. "Lucy you were amazing!"
Lucy felt her cheeks warm. For once she couldn't say anything.
She mustered up a small giggle after a moment or two of recovering from the shock.
'It isn't too often that he praises me,' she thought to herself. 'It's kinda nice.'
Before long, the music started, indicating the beginning of the ceremony and they turned their attention to the master of ceremonies.
At the reception
"Millianna!" Loke cried. "Re-remember me?"
She gave him a confused look.
"You used to burrow my poncho freshman year?"
Confusion.
"I used to drive you home on Thanksgivings?"
"Uhhh..."
Loke sighed.
"I used to be fat?"
Her face lit up. "Oh! Rollie Pollie Loke!"
They both started laughing, but Loke uncomfortably so.
"Wow!" she said in amazement. "You look... amazing!"
Risley spotted the pair from a way's off and gestured to the crotch area of her pantsuit in victory. Loke felt his throat dry. "You... also... for sure..."
The brunette nodded awkwardly.
"How are your classes! Not that we're still in school anymore but... hey, what are you drinking? White wine?"
"I'm not drinking," she said somberly. "Fully sober. Six months."
She looked over his shoulder at the bartender. "Can I get a seltzer please?"
"Me too."
Millianna looked at him in confusion. "You're six months sober also?"
"Seven. Seven months... that's one more than you."
"Oh well that's great!" Her face lit up. "I'm happy for you, congratulations!"
The bartender returned to the two with drinks in hand.
"Alright, one seltzer and one white wine."
Millianna knotted her eyes in confusion at the blonde.
"No! No, I did not order this... can you believe this guy Millianna? I mean even the sight of it-"
"-Look I gotta go," she said. "But you know... you can talk to me if you need to talk about it," she finished looking at him worriedly.
"Um yes. Thank you, of course," he said smiling, watching the stunning brunette sashay away. He turned to the bartender immediately afterwards.
"Now listen to me pal, here's what I need you to do. I need you to pour vodka in a water bottle okay? And then, rendezvous with me in the parking lot okay? Same page? Same page."
The bar tender stared at him blankly.
Gajeel stared at Abel with disdain before turning to the fake couple. "I'm gonna kill that kid," he said quickly before getting up.
"Gajeel relax, he's just a child!" Natsu called after him, but his cry fell on deaf ears.
"You two," Loke called, crouching down between Natsu and Lucy's seats. "If Millianna asks, I'm seven months clean and sober and I'm looking to settle down."
"Greeeaaat," the pinkette responded dryly. He turned to Lucy. "Hey, did you know that Loke's seven months sober?"
The blonde was too preoccupied with something to humor him - himself, apparently.
"What are you doing?"
She had her arms locked around his neck, her head rested comfortably on his shoulders as she rubbed her head on his shoulder blade and stared dazed into his eyes.
"She's looking this way," Lucy answered without breaking eye contact.
Natsu quickly turned around to spot Lisanna before turning back to the blonde.
"Hey Luce, when she comes over here I wanna talk to her by myself alright?"
"Are you sure? I mean that wasn't in the-"
"Look it'll be fine, alright?"
"Heeeeeyyyyyyyyyy..." Lisanna drawled. "Could that ceremony be any longer?" she laughed awkwardly and Natsu joined.
"Well we thought it was lovely," Lucy said pointedly.
Lisanna looked at her, her confidence fading away.
"Hey Luce, do you wanna go and do that thing you were telling me about?"
"Oh! Yes, of course, I'll go do that right now," she said retreating.
Lisanna sat down next to him.
"So Lucy seems... great."
"She's the best," Natsu responded faster than he'd like.
"So are you guys... pretty serious?"
"Yeah we are pretty serious actually. You know we live together now. She's a... she's a character to have around the place for sure."
Under the dimmed red lights, Loke dashed back over to the bar counter as soon as he saw the coast was clear with Millianna.
"Give me any alcohol you've got, I don't care what it is," he said hurriedly to the bartender. When he turned around he came face to face with a smiling Risley. He rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Gimme a champagne," she said to the bartender and was momentarily handed a glass of orange bubbly. She looked at her wedding hookup as she drank her beverage with a lewd smile. His face contorted in disgust.
"It's like you're, lapping it out of a puddle. What are you, a dog?"
"Look at you, what, did you steal those boots off a lady hiker?" she retorted.
"Look at those earrings, are they clip-ons?"
"I'll make you wear them," Risley said into his ear.
He rolled his eyes again, taking a deep breath. He was disgusted, but also oddly aroused.
"N-no. No, Risley," was all he said to her before walking away.
He found Lucy sitting by a lone table with a miserable expression on her face, one he didn't notice due to his own dilemma.
"Loke, I think you're gonna have to help me take off my bicycle shorts."
He did a double take.
"Lucy... why are you wearing bicycle shorts?"
"With this dress, normal panties weren't an option. It was either no underwear at all or I wore a thong. Neither of options made me very comfortable."
"Okay first if all, yes. Yes to all of that which you just said. And second, enough about your problems, now let's talk about mine."
Lucy stopped tugging on her shorts in defeat.
"Luce, I need to go home with Millianna tonight. I deserve someone like her, she's perfect. And it doesn't matter, that I have... mean-spirited, gymnastic, highly educational sex with Risley... I mean, that's just not what I want to do anymore!"
"Well what's wrong with Risley? You two obviously share some kind of weird connection."
"No, no, no, no, no Lucy. I wanna connect with Millianna. I wanna connect with her on the shower, on the floor, sitting Indian style-"
"Okay, that's a little too much information," Lucy said politely before putting her hands over her ears.
Gajeel crouched down between the two blondes.
"We've gotta problem," he said lowly and turned to look at Natsu and Lisanna. The pair were laughing and talking freely with one another, with Natsu leaning in close.
"Lucy, what did you do?"
"What?" she asked looking between her upset roommates in confusion. "They're just talking."
"No Heartfilia," Gajeel reprimanded, taking a seat. "With Lisanna, it is never just talking."
"Lucy didn't we make ourselves clear in the loft? He is not fine when it comes down to her. She'll maybe see him at a random party, flirt with him until she knows she can have him again, and then just... leave him high and dry," Loke finished sadly. "It's like he's her back up plan."
"Heartfilia do you want to have to live in a loft where Dragneel isn't crying 12 hours a day? Hell, do you wanna see a grown man cry? Cause trust me, it's not as fun as you might think."
"Alright, I get it," Lucy started gathering her bearings. "But... but my thighs still hurt," she whined softly.
The blonde stood up, pulling her dress down as much as she could before Loke grabbed her forearms and turned her around to face their targets. He patted her on the arms before pushing her towards them.
"Work through it woman."
The music pulsated through the speakers and Lucy shimmied awkwardly on the dance floor with a few other wedding guests. She danced closer and closer to the table with Natsu and Lisanna, neither of them noticing her.
"It's all on you Luce!"
Loke shouted from the distance.
"Hey honey!" she shouted, capturing their attention. "Come on in, the water's fine!"
"No thanks babe, I don't like to dance remember?" He shouted before turning back to Lisanna.
"Hey Nat!" she called trying to get his attention again. "Did you know that I could do this?"
She held her hands to the side and pulled her body along as if she was pulling her body to the side.
"I'm miming," she said melodically. "I'm Mime-chael Jackson."
Even though her robot mime routine was really strange to him, the mix between her miming and puns earned her a chuckle from her fake boyfriend.
"I'm gonna go get a drink," Lisanna excused herself.
"Oh, me too!" Natsu bolted out his seat behind her.
"Natsu!" Lucy dropped her mime routine in genuine distress. "Hold on, what are you doing?"
"Don't worry Luce, this is great!" he called happily to her in passing. "I might actually have a chance again and its all thanks to you!"
"No Natsu, that wasn't my intention!" She called after him, but it was too late. "Natsu wait!"
Take on me by A-ha starts to play and more people crowd the dancefloor. Despite her best efforts, she lost sight of her faux boo and ended up being drowned out by excited wedding goers. Suddenly she felt a tug on her hand and she looked down to see a little boy trying to dance with her.
"Hey baby, do you wanna dance?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. Genuinely weirded out, she shivered, shrinking her hand away.
"I'm sorry little boy, uh, I'm not in the mood to dance right now..."
Gajeel emerged from the back of the gathering crowd much to the blonde's relief.
"Gajeel! Gajeel you have to help me find Natsu!"
"Natsu can wait," he said approaching her. "This... this is about honor," he was glaring dead ahead at something, never breaking eye contact to look at her once. Lucy started looking for whatever it was Gajeel was looking at but she couldn't find it. She looked downwards a couple feet and then she found it.
It was the little boy from earlier, glaring back.
The two wedding ushers started gyrating to Do you wanna? and the crowd created a clearing, starting to cheer them on. Lucy felt trapped in the middle.
"Ladies and gentlemen we have a dance off," announced the dj.
First the little boy would bust a move, and then Gajeel would bust a move too, and soon they started copying each other in a mission to outdo one another. The little boy grabbed Lucy again by her hand and tried to grind against her leg. Thankfully, Gajeel yanked her by her other hand towards him, nearly dislocating her socket but she was still saved nonetheless. Then the child tried pulling her back before Gajeel yanked her again and she was stuck in the middle of yet another back and forth between the two. With Gajeel being bigger and stronger though, he ultimately prevailed and Lucy ended up flying into his chest.
The kid stammered backwards in defeat.
"Thanks Gaj- wha- what are you doing?!"
Gajeel in retaliation, took Lucy by the arm and started grinding against Lucy's ass making everyone, including himself, uncomfortable. He didn't care though. He wanted that kid to shove it.
"Take that you brat!"
"Mommy..."
The crowd started to murmur in disgust as the people dissipated.
The blonde spotted Natsu and Lisanna sneaking away in passing.
"Natsu! Natsu wait!"
Natsu and Lisanna travelled from one end of the large hotel ballroom turned reception hall, to the other. Natsu was very careful to avoid Lucy and his friends. He and Lisanna were actually having a good time and he didn't want the three weirdos he lived with to come and mess up the vibe.
"Hey Natsu," Lisanna stopped in front of him and held out her hand. "Wanna try that?"
Natsu grinned as he and Lisanna walked closely together and inside a cramped photo booth. It was really small, and Natsu and Lisanna couldn't both be seated on the bench comfortably. Lisanna tried standing up and to the side, Natsu tried moving over as much as he could to no avail, and finally one of them said it.
"Can I just sit..." Lisanna gestured to Natsu's lap while shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, sure!" he answered quickly. He knew it would be in his best interest not to make things awkward (lest she shy away) but his heart was pounding madly in his chest.
Lisanna was about to sit in his lap.
Once seated, Natsu instantly remembered the times they'd been like this before. How soft her skin was, how plump her ass was-
"Natsu?"
He quickly shook his head, gathering himself.
"You ready to start?"
"Huh? Oh absolutely."
He shouldn't let his mind wander.
Lisanna put the dollar in and timer started to go off.
"Okay ready? No lips."
They both puckered up their lips as if they both ate something sour. The flash went off. Natsu chuckled, only imagining how silly they must've looked.
"Okay, now do 'super high driver's license'," he said, before squinting his eyes deeply, raising his eyebrows and leaving his mouth slightly ajar. Lisanna howled in laughter at his expression, throwing her head back but keeping one hand on his shoulder for support.
"Hey c'mon, hurry," he said with a playful smirk before returning to his silly expression. Lisanna tried to mimic him as best as she could. The flash went off again.
"Okay, now wind tunnel," she commanded quickly before ruffling his somewhat smoothed down spiky hair to it's usual state.
He looked at her in disbelief with a growing smile on his face.
"Why you little..."
She giggled at his miffed expression, politely covering her mouth with her hands as she did so. The flash went off.
"Can we just... stay in here all night?" she whispered absentmindedly.
Natsu heard her however and his heart started beating anxiously against his ribcage. His smile slowly faded.
"Lisanna..."
In the bathroom
Lucy sat against the counter pulling and tearing rabidly at her bicycle shorts with a letter opener, not being able to take the lack of circulation to her thighs and sacred unmentionables anymore. Millianna came walking into the bathroom.
"Oh hi!" Lucy chirped. The brunette all but slammed into the nearest stall bathroom. Her eyes widened and she started panting, turning to Lucy who startled her.
"Loke's very fond of you," she sang out, gesturing to her with her letter opener.
"Look uh, I don't even know him that well alright?" She uttered, terrified.
"Sorry if this looks kinda weird," Lucy continued obliviously. "I'm just trying to cut off my underwear before I lose all blood flow in my you-know-what," she finished with a chuckle.
She yanked at her bicycle shorts one more time before the blonde heard a victorious ripping sound that made her smile, and she haphazardly ripped it off. She groaned in relief taking in a big breath, before exhaling deeply. Millianna watched it all in a disturbed silence.
Once done, Lucy hopped off the counter, pulling down her dress to as far as it could go.
"Well it's been really nice getting to know you," the blonde offered sweetly. "But now I've got a faux boyfriend to hunt down... and I have a sneaking suspicion that he's cheating on me." She laughed hardily at the words coming out of her own mouth, due to how crazy it all sounded. However, to Millianna, Lucy just looked crazy.
Finally, the blonde started to walk away but suddenly paused.
"Oh! And don't break Loke's heart, or else you'll have me and my gang here to deal with," she said playfully waving the letter opener around, before winking and walking away.
With that, Millianna desperately retreated to the restroom stall she was leaning against, while Lucy walked away.
The line to the photo booth was growing at ridiculous proportions. Spotting the pinkette's brown shoes and Lisanna's clear stilettos, Lucy walked right up to the curtain of the booth and yanked it open.
"Natsu!" She yelled aghastly.
Lisanna quickly stood up.
"How could you?"
She tried using her best acting chops.
"Go away Luce..."
"Nothing happened! I swear!" Lisanna panicked.
"And after everything we've been through!"
"Seriously, please stop..." Natsu strained.
"No really," Lisanna tried to stress again. "Nothing... happened... I have a boyfriend.
Natsu felt his world come to a sudden and screeching halt.
"Lisanna..." he said softly. "...you have a boyfriend?"
Lucy looked on at him sadly, feeling his heartbreak from where she was standing.
"Well... yeah," she said innocently, turning to him. "I've been seeing someone... Bickslow actually... and I didn't want to bring him cause I didn't want to hurt your feelings," she started rambling. "But now that I know you have Lucy-"
"-yeah," the blonde interjected firmly. "At the very least, he has me."
A tense silence ensued as Lisanna looked between the two, terrified. Natsu holding his face in his hands and Lucy soaking it all in.
"And our baby!" Lucy suddenly shouted.
"Wait what?" The platinum blonde instinctively looked at Lucy's stomach.
Natsu continued to say nothing, feeling a pulsing migraine starting to form.
"And- and... our other baby!" Lucy kept going.
"Okay well, I'm just gonna let you guys..." Lisanna quickly scampered away.
"Lucy!"
A different voice now entered the mix and the blonde turned her head to see Loke angrily approaching her.
"What the hell happened with Millianna?! She just left here in tears because she said you threatened her with a knife?"
"No!" Lucy's voice squeaked in disbelief. "I was only trying to talk you up!"
"Yeah, well, the only thing you should've been doing," he gestured angrily at his pink haired friend. "Is taking care of Natsu! Why is it so hard for you to do just do one thing?"
"Wha- How is this my fault?"
Loke's words sent a pang straight through Lucy's chest. And after a few moments of tense silence, Loke murmured something under his breath.
"Ruiner."
Lucy was taken aback. "Did you just call me a ruiner?"
"Yes because the only thing you ever manage to do is ruin things."
Gajeel, who had noticed the commotion his friends were causing, gravitated over.
"Now someone here, please tell me I'm wrong."
With all the occupants of their loft present, Loke felt validated. Natsu was too busy in his own chagrin to respond and Gajeel, fresh on the scene didn't know what they were talking about.
Lucy shook her head in hurt and disbelief. The pain she felt inside however, she let quickly boil over into anger.
"Screw you," she spat, looking Loke dead in the eyes. "Actually screw all of you!"
Her eyes glazed over the trio. "All I've been trying to do was help you out all day! These are you guys' problems and I've only been trying to help YOU! ...you guys are such assholes!"
The blonde willed herself not to cry, but her rapid blinking gave her away to the boys who were all starting to feel bad already. She began to make her exit. Before she left though, she made one more remark.
"Don't bother waiting up for me later. I'll find a ride home... I'd sooner walk all the way back to the loft before getting in a car with you three. And for your information, there is nothing wrong with the way I am. I accept myself for who I am, and if you don't like it, well... tough tater tots tooters."
Her words left a chill in the air, something the guys weren't used to from their cheery roommate.
As Lucy stormed off, Risley returned in the thick of the tension, which Loke couldn't roll his eyes harder at.
"You're going home with me now, aren't you?" She gloated.
Loke gave her a dirty look and sighed. With a smug smile, she took off her clip on earrings one by one, and put them on Loke.
"Good boy."
She patted his face before making her exit, leaving the blonde wearing larger than life sapphire earrings.
Fighting back her tears, Lucy ended up wandering down the seemingly endless and vacant halls of the five star hotel. At the end of a dark hallway, she happened upon an opened double door and peaked inside to see that the chambers were empty. There was no bed so clearly it wasn't a bedroom, actually the room was devoid of all furniture save for a few folded tables and chairs lining the walls. Lucy assumed it was safe to go inside since it seemed to be a storage room for the reception furniture.
After wandering inside the room she realized she missed a vanity in the front corner and sat by it.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Even though she didn't do anything to drastically ruin the perfection of her hair and makeup, she could see the redness of her face from holding back tears. The curse of a snow white complexion.
Ruiner.
Her chest weighed heavily with the way she left things with her roommates. All she wished for was peace and harmony but she had let her emotions get the best of her and probably ruined the whole dynamic of the loft.
All she wanted to do was help.
Despite her trying to breathe through it, a single tear drop slid down her right cheek.
"Need a tissue?"
Lucy jumped whipping her head to find the woman of the day herself.
Standing behind her with a gentle smile and a box of Kleenex, was a woman in a purple kimono style dress with lilac splotches on it, thigh-high leather boots, and flowing red hair in a high bun ponytail.
"I am so sorry, I didn't realize that I was intruding-"
"No don't worry, it's alright," she assured her. "I just like coming here because it's better than the bridal chambers where there are people all over me."
Lucy, still dumbstruck by her encounter with the bride for the first time, didn't say anything.
'She is so beautiful...'
After a while she gently picked up a Kleenex and dabbed her cheek and under her eyes to dry the tears. Erza unfolded one of the chairs and pulled up beside Lucy, turning on the vanity lights.
Lucy looked at the both of them in the mirror.
Erza reached over Lucy's shoulder, gently scooping curls of Lucy's hair back over her shoulder like she had it when the wedding started.
"So I never caught your name," Erza started.
"O-oh! I'm Lucy..."
"You came here with Natsu and the others right?"
She felt a pinch in her heart at the mention of her friends whom she was currently at odds with. "Um yeah..."
Erza gauged her reactions carefully, raising an eyebrow. "So how long have you two been seeing each other?"
Lucy sniffled. "What?"
"You know, how long have you two been dating?"
Lucy blinked in confusion.
"Natsu...?" Erza asked.
Lucy stared into the bride's violet eyes in a confused daze. After a few more moments of silence, she caught on. "Oh! Of course, um, we haven't been dating long..."
A knowing smile spread across Erza's glossed lips. "You two aren't really dating are you?"
Lucy shook her head. She found it nearly impossible to lie to this woman. She felt like she would be lying to her own mother.
Erza threw her head back in a loud chortle, holding her mouth in the process. Her laughter was infectious and Lucy felt herself smiling.
"That is so them," she said fanning herself when she was done. "I suspected as much watching you all today."
"I'm probably the worst fake girlfriend in the world," Lucy joked. "But I'm actually the boys' new roommate. Loke basically just put me on babysitting duty."
"Ahhhhhhhh, okay that makes more sense. Natsu is truly a child when he can't face something. But you're a really good friend for helping them out like that."
Unbeknownst to Erza, Lucy felt like a weight lifted off her chest when the redhead said those words.
"... really? You think so?"
"Oh yeah. Not many people would be so willing to go all out like that. Nice Mime-chael Jackson routine by the way."
Lucy mentally pumped her fist in the air victoriously. "Thank you."
"So, what seems to be bothering you Lucy?"
"I think... I just needed a bit of space," she answered honestly.
"I can get that," Erza nodded her head. "And if there's something else going on that you want to share... then I'm open to listen. But I'm fine if you don't want to, too."
Lucy nodded smiling. Erza had been gently rubbing circles in her back for a while now which had also helped to calm the blonde down.
The peaceful silence was disturbed when Erza's phone rang. She picked it up from her pocket and checked the caller ID. The phone stopped.
"I think they're looking for me out there, but it was really nice talking to you Lucy."
"Oh no! The pleasure was all mine!"
"Thank you... for taking care of 'em Lucy. Especially Natsu. You seem like a really good friend. And I know they can be tough to deal with, but the boys seem to like you alot."
Erza smiled and held her hand. Lucy sniffed with a growing smile.
"You're so nice Erza," Lucy started. "I can't believe the boys made it seem like... you were some sort of ball buster or something." She let out a loud chuckle.
Erza's smile dropped. "No they're right I do bust balls as a hobby," she said seriously.
Lucy paused in confusion as they both stared into each other's eyes. After a second, they both burst out into laughter.
After their laughter died down, Erza spoke again.
"No but seriously, I do bust balls as a hobby," she said wiping a tear from her eye. "There's at least... three guys who all have restraining orders against me and I'm currently in the middle of a lawsuit with this guy who I kicked in the balls at work."
Lucy stopped laughing to stare at Erza. Then, she broke out into a fresh bout of laughter. "Good one Erza!"
Erza wasn't laughing. "No, I'm serious."
Lucy laughter stopped immediately out of fear. She scooted a little away from the redhead and blinked very slowly.
"I'm sorry?"
As the night raged on, more and more people started moving around, abandoning their seats and any sort of structure the wedding reception had.
Within the chaotic merriment, Natsu stumbled over to the life-size cutout of the happy couple, with a paid videographer for any wedding guests to further wish the couple congratulations on film.
He almost knocked out a cardboard Erza and Jellal, and steadied the cardboard with great difficulty. Reedus, who was holding the camera, moved it to raise an eyebrow at him.
Being careful not to spill his drink, Natsu pulled out a roll of black and white film from his pocket, smearing his thumb messily over two faces.
"That's Lisanna and that's me," he said to the camera showing the pictures they took from earlier. He snorted.
"Four years... four years..." he mumbled. "But it doesn't matter... doesn't to me..."
"Erza and Jellal buddy," Reedus interjected.
"Right, right," he said absentmindedly. He took another sip from his glass before continuing. "Congratulations... CONGRAAAAAAAAATS... Erza and Jellal... although it does feel like you're rubbing it in our faces a bit right? Your little happiness... nobody likes a showoff Erza!"
Reedus slumped his shoulders and stuck his free hand in his pocket.
"That outfit isn't very flattering on you Za... and Jellal... no open bar? That's tacky man! Your wife's a lawyer and your dad's a state judge man!"
When Natsu was done, Reedus awkwardly closed the camera with a look of utter confusion on his face.
"You'd better pray to your Gods that Erza never sees this."
Ignoring his remarks, Natsu stumbled on, pushing past women in beautiful dresses and accidentally spilling some of his drink on a few guys' shoes. Without thinking, he found his way back to the photo booth cutting in front of the woman in front of the line and inviting himself behind the curtain intruding on a set of twin's photo session.
"Hey ladies, do you wanna see a grown, drunk man sob? You don't? Well GET THE HECK OUT!"
The girls screamed in horror, vacating the contraption.
"Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssss... thuuuuuuurrrrs is gonna take a while orange," he said in passing to the girl at the front of the line. "Think I saw a doctor looking at you though so you're in good hands."
"I'M NOT GOD, I SWEAR TO DRUNK!" he shouted once inside.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd now, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Jellal Fernandez!" the announcer said into the mic.
Out came Erza and her newly wedded husband from behind a curtain and making their way to center stage to take their first dance as a married couple. Most of the other reception festivities had been done and Erza chose to opt out of all of them except for this one.
From an empty table, Lucy sat with her shoes off and feet kicked up on another chair, as she blew bubbles from the bag of party favors available to guests. She smiled when she saw Erza emerge in her beautiful purple outfit with her husband.
'They look so good together,' she thought.
The dj started to play the more typical reception songs, 'Cha Cha slide' and then 'Cupid Shuffle' started to play. The blonde sighed and blew more bubbles.
"Can I join you?"
Lucy looked up to find Gajeel without his tie, top buttons undone and hands in his pockets. Lucy smiled.
"Hey Gajeel," she said as he took a seat.
Mimicking his roommate, he kicked off his shoes, propped up his socked feet on the chair in front of him and picked up another bottle of bubbles.
"Can I tell you something if you promise to never tell Loke?" He opened the bubbles and dipped the wand in the soapy water a few times. Then he propped the wand by his lips and blew out, creating a stream of bubbles big and small to float over Lucy. Amazed, she lifted her hands in the air to touch them and revel in the magic for a bit.
"I love bubbles," Gajeel confessed. "I don't know why, I just always have."
As they watched him create his second stream of bubbles, Gajeel pointed out two bubbles joined together. "Look at that one, it's like a two-in-one." Lucy giggled.
With a sigh, Gajeel closed up the bubbles to look at her seriously, even though she was distracted popping a few in the air.
"Hey uh...you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucy answered truthfully.
"Look I'm sorry about what happened back there... and yeah those guys were jerks."
Lucy only nodded.
"But I know for a fact that they're glad you're around."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. They're not just gonna come out and say it though. Especially Natsu, he's a little... harder to read. But they're all thinking it... even me-"
Lucy perked up excitedly. "Really?" she asked with a smile.
"-sometimes," he finished with a wink.
Lucy slouched back in her chair, but couldn't contain the smirk playing on her own lips.
"You know... I kinda thought it was... weird... when I was in the middle of a... dance battle... between you and an 8-year-old," she said slowly, trying to carefully formulate her words. "Do you maybe wanna talk about it?"
Hearing Lucy (undoubtedly the weirdest member of the loft) describe to him what he'd been doing all day, which somehow made him sound even weirder than her, made Gajeel cringe.
This was definitely a new low for him.
"I don't know what got into me," he said. "I guess just seeing that kid take away the only job I've been able to land since I left Hargeon kinda touched a nerve with me. And I took it out with dance."
Lucy guffawed at his explanation.
After a few moments of tranquil silence, Loke rushed over to the pair and crouched down.
"Okay, so we have a problem."
Being debriefed by Loke on the way, the three made it to the crowded photo booth. There were a few films of Natsu looking varying degrees of distress sitting outside the booth's picture collection slot. Loke quickly and coyly took all of them and slipped them in his pockets.
"Natsu, buddy? You alright in there?"
"They want me to leave the photo booth and I won't. This is my home now, it's got everything that I need."
"You can see by looking at these pictures that he's experiencing a variety of different emotions," Loke said, pointing to the pictures capturing Natsu's breakdown. Lucy leaned over his shoulder to look. Loke continued to flip through pictures.
"Well actually, this one's just his butt..." he trailed off awkwardly.
Lucy shied away from Loke's shoulder.
"The one constant though is that he keeps saying 'Luce'-"
"Luce!" Natsu called drunkenly, as if on cue. Both blondes turned to the photo booth. "The fact is... I was a mean person... and I'm sorry."
Lucy walked to the photo booth and smiled at him. She stepped inside the cramped thing and drew the curtains for privacy. Natsu scooted over in the seat so she could sit down.
"How's it going Nat?"
"Hey Luce I live in a photo booth now."
"I see that."
"There's a living room and a kitchen... there's even a guest bedroom so you can visit."
"Very nice," she smiled at him.
The two of them smiled at each other in silence.
"Hey," Lucy placed a hand on his thigh. "She had a boyfriend."
Natsu sighed. This was the talk he was dreading to hear.
"She shouldn't have been flirting with you all night," Lucy said softly. Natsu nodded. "That's not fair to you."
Natsu closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
"You know... the last time I saw her... she told me that she didn't realize how much I cared about her until after we broke up." He shook his head and squeezed his eyes. "And I... I still don't understand. All these years together and she... she didn't realize I was in love with her?"
Despite him fighting it, his voice cracked and Lucy could see the pain growing on his face. She scooted closer and rested her head on his chest as a source of comfort. He leaned on her head in response.
"You know, you can't be her back up plan," she continued. "You've got too much to offer to keep doing that. I think it's time you let each other go. For real this time."
She lifted up her head to look him in the eyes. Their faces were painfully close, only centimeters apart, but neither of them said anything about it. Natsu continued to stare at her. Lucy broke their gaze by looking down and then at his chest-- anywhere but him. She cleared her throat.
"Listen, I'm going back out there to enjoy the rest of Erza's wedding. You can choose to join me... you know, enjoy yourself and celebrate something really special with your friends... or... you can stay locked in this photo booth... for the next hour," she gave him a muted smile and patted his leg. "Choice is yours."
When she walked out, Loke and Gajeel gawked at each other. Both of them amazed at her pep talk, and both of them wondering anxiously if it worked. They got their answer when they heard Natsu sigh from the inside. Then groan. Then bones cracking as he stood up and stretched. Then saw him emerge.
"I can't believe it," Gajeel said. "He actually looks... okay?"
Back in the reception hall, Gajeel, Loke and Lucy all sat at one of the dinner tables watching Natsu intensely talk to Lisanna a few tables away. The pinkette was leaned over in his chair, eyes stern, eyebrows furrowed and his hand moving every so often to further emphasize his point. Lisanna sat in a sheepish position, hands in her lap as she listened timidly.
"I can't keep doing this anymore," he said to her. "I have to let you go Lisanna, for real this time... It has to be over."
Lisanna looked at the table, eyes misty. "I'm sorry Natsu. I really wanted for us to be friends."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry Lisanna. I just can't... be friends with you. I can't."
Lisanna looked him in his glistening onyx eyes, coming face to face for the first time with just an ounce of how much pain she put him through. She nodded her head. Natsu said nothing. She sat in a reflective silence. Then, she leaned forward, opening her arms for a hug. He leaned in, hugging her back.
"Goodbye," he said to her back. "Good luck and everything."
When they separated, she nodded her head sadly. "Goodbye."
They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments and Natsu smiled sheepishly.
"So I've got to um... excuse me..." he said leaving the table.
His roommates watched him closely as he walked back over to their table. He ended up right in front of Lucy, stretching out his arm.
"Take my hand."
Lucy looked around before looking back at him just to be sure. She shook her head politely. After what felt like the longest day ever, Lucy was both physically and emotionally exhausted, and was certainly in no mood to dance.
"Come on Heartfilia, the longer I stand here, the dumber I look."
She sighed and reluctantly took his hand.
With her hand in his, he led her out to the dancefloor where 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran was playing. Once there, he let her hand go and he stuffed his hands in his pockets while she folded her arms and sighed.
What was she even doing here?
Slowly, a wicked smile grew on Natsu's face as he bent his arms and flapped them up and down, slowly stomping his feet. When he extended his neck and then contracted it, the blonde recognized her iteration of the chicken dance. Natsu's smiling might've been infectious as Lucy grew a silly grin of her own, trying not to erupt in chuckles at her roommate.
"Hey, don't leave me hanging," he said still dancing.
She joined in. Flapping her arms and stomping her feet in a slow motion chicken dance too.
As they danced, their roommates watched from the table. "That looks like so much fun," Loke said longingly. He slowly got up from his seat, making his way over to them doing the slow motion chicken dance.
Gajeel twitched his upper lip in disgust.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he said.
The trio started simultaneously extending and and contracting their necks as a form of a slow beak.
Gajeel sighed. "I can't be the only normal one in this loft."
The trio continued to flap their wings in sync. Gajeel's feet tapped incessantly on the ground.
"At this point, even I miss Gray."
Realizing that nobody was listening, Gajeel became even moodier. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he felt left out from all the fun they were having, although he was too proud to admit that.
Gajeel looked back at his friends and sighed again.
"Oh, who am I kidding? I just had a dance battle with an 8-year-old today - there is no normal one in the loft."
With that he chicken danced over to his friends, who all eagerly welcomed him with smiles and laughs.
Together they flapped, stomped, squawked and pecked.
"Hey don't copy my peck," Loke said to Gajeel.
"Hey, don't copy my peck," he spat back.
That night in a random hotel room...
"Hey Risley... you know us hooking up at all these weddings is just... do you think next time we can just go on an actual date?"
Loke laid on his bed naked, his arms handcuffed to the bed head, feet chained to the bed frame, leaving him in a star position. Risley, who was holding a laptop straddling him, twisted her face in disgust. She had yet to take her clip-on earrings off of him, so it was even harder to take him seriously then.
"God no," she said plainly. "I'm only using you for your body Celeste."
Loke blinked.
"Oh. Okay. Cool," he replied. "Hey, how many more pictures of your river rafting trip do we have to go through?"
"I'm just getting started baby," she tapped a key on her keyboard and it changed slides. Loke turned up his upper lip at the outfit Risley was wearing in the photo.
"That yellow helmet is just- no."
Risley smirked before changing slides again.
"Tonight I'm gonna get certified on the River Celeste."
Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooo...
So thanks for reading this chapter, wanted to churn this one out before classes start for me on Monday and I end up disappearing for a while. I'm starting my senior year in undergrad, plus I'm taking up other responsibilities so I'll be a bit preoccupied.
Another 10k bad boy. Fun fact: this chapter was supposed to come out before the last one, but I was so excited for the last one that I finished it first. Anyway, thoughts? Comments? Reactions?
Thanks for all the lovely feedback on the last chapter! Particularly the comments from rao hyuga 18, queenuly14, LadyNerdyNerf, shugo charaa,Copperreign12 and AJ. I love reading the reactions.
Anyway, I'm really excited for the next one and I think you guys will really like it too.
Next chapter: Cana Crashes