Roommates Chapter 5: Cana Crashes, a fairy tail fanfic

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sounds of hurried, gory violence droned mindlessly from the TV. The boys all sat on the couch in their messy living room, beers in hand and the kitchen lights illuminating the otherwise dark room.

The boys seemed thoroughly enthralled, their eyes glued vacuously to a woman running frantically from her would-be chainsaw killer.

"Hey guys!" Lucy's chipper voice pierced through their content silence, as she barged in the living room wearing an oversized bathrobe and glasses. Her popcorn spilled all over them as she hopped over the couch and wedged herself between Natsu and Loke. "What we watching?"

The two men groaned as they scooted over to make room for their intrusive guest. After another ear-splitting scream by the woman on the screen, she met her gory demise. Lucy grimaced, chewing her popcorn obnoxiously.

"Scary movies..." she mumbled in between bites of popcorn. "Man I hate scary movies... why are we watching scary movies?"

Natsu sighed.

"Lucy... we're not watching a scary movie," he said, gesturing to her, himself and the boys. "We... are watching a scary movie," he said, now only gesturing to himself, Gajeel and Loke. Without tearing his eyes away from the screen, Gajeel reached over and grabbed a fist full of popcorn from her bowl unceremoniously.

The movie droned on. A chilling piano melody filled the room as the chainsaw killer stalked his next unsuspecting victim.

Lucy sunk in her place on the couch for a moment or two, fear gripping her body.

"Ooh! You know what we should watch?!"

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gajeel hissed at her. Loke eyed her in disbelief. Nonetheless, the blonde continued excitedly.

"Have you guys ever seen Glee? It's about a group of teenagers with talent to spare, taking their small town of Lima, Ohio by storm... one dance number at a time. The cafeteria... the auditorium... the oh- that's so much blood," she winced.

Loke lulled his head to the side before checking his watch to see how much time had passed. More screaming poured through the TV.

"Ooh! That guy's gonna blow himself up!" She observed excitedly.

"Lucy, why would you think that guy's gonna blow himself up?" Natsu asked.

BOOM!

Dramatic organ playing accompanied the explosion as the aggravated guys all turned to Lucy.

"Sorry..." She smiled sheepishly. "I saw this movie in theatres..."

"Oh my God..." Natsu sighed irately under his breath, as he and the guys all got up simultaneously from the couch, moaning and groaning about their ruined movie.

"I told ya'll we should've gone out," Gajeel mumbled.

"I don't even know why we thought this would work," Loke muttered.

"Wait a minute..." Lucy added innocently. "Where are you guys going? I thought we were watching a movie together. Guys? You guys?"

Roommates Chapter 5: Cana Crashes

Sounds of Future reverberated the entire three story building, as scantily clad women suspended themselves from building length poles. There was a sea of people on ground level dressed in their sexiest attire, grinding on each other in tune to the melodies, creating a mosh pit of sweaty bodies, all slaves to the music.

Lucy navigated her way awkwardly past said bodies, forging a path clear to the DJ booth.

"Cana!" She cried, as soon as her eyes spotted her model friend who was in a heated argument with said DJ.

"What are you talking about?! I saw you with her!" Came Cana's faint shouts over the ear splitting bass.

The blonde trudged on. Weaving her way through horny, sweaty strangers with a renewed confidence and purposeful pep in her step. "Beep beep!"

"Oh you were just talking? With your tongue down her throat? What the fuck do I look like-"

"Cece!" Lucy shouted, gaining both Cana and the man's attention. "I got your text from earlier, are you ready to go?"

Cana groaned grazenly. "Hi Lucy, thanks for coming," she said as Lucy took her place beside her. "Luce, he was making out with another girl!" the brunette pointed at him accusingly and turned to Lucy expectantly, before turning back to him and folding her arms, as if she were a preschooler who just tattled on a classmate for doing something wrong.

Lucy fixed her glasses before looking at him.

"You... get away... from... here..." Lucy finished weakly.

"Who are you Miss Pajama?" the man said with a Russian accent. "You're blocking my booth. Get out of here!"

"DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT, THAT IS MY BEST FRIEND!" Cana rampaged, grabbing the guy's shirt and ripping the front in half with one angry pull.

Lucy's jaw dropped. His jaw dropped. Cana began to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Look at this! What you've done, YOU'VE RUINED MY DEEP V!"

"It's just a bigger V," Lucy offered timidly, as she guided a drunken Cana away before things escalated... or someone pressed charges.

"Thanks for picking me up Luce," Cana said, as they were walking down the street, free from the cacophony of noise from the club and left only with the tranquil suburban night as their third party. The brunette fixed her boobs properly inside the V-neck of her short, shimmery black dress before she had some kind of a nip slip. Her designer clutch remained tucked away absentmindedly under her arm. Her hoop earrings and ponytail swung fiercely with every black heeled step. Her makeup stayed completely in tact even after an alcohol riddled, sweaty night at the club doing God knows what. Somehow, even after all that, Cana still looked runway ready, even taking the sidewalk they were walking on as her own makeshift stage.

"I really thought that _ was different you know?" She continued. "Didn't you feel like he was different too?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow, not sure what to say. "Uumm... yeah! I mean, he seemed like a really nice... DJ."

A green Chevrolet with two burly guys in the front and a bunch of kids on the bed of the trunk started to slow down. As the truck approached the two women, the guys began to stick their heads out of the window as they shamelessly ogled Lucy's brown haired friend.

Cana giggled as they began whistling at her, the driver going so far as to honk his horn a few times.

"Oooooohhhhhhh, Lucy, Luce I think these guys are into us... We should go back right? We should- we should totally just go back-"

"Cana, where am I taking you?" Lucy's tone sliced right through Cana's ramblings, and straight to the point.

Diffidently, Cana toyed with the bangles around her wrist. "Well... I can't go home because _'s, like, staying at my place..."

"Cana, you've only known him for three weeks!"

"Can I just crash with you for a couple days?" She asked sweetly. "Pleeeeeease?" She latched on to Lucy's arm and batted her eyelashes at her for good measure.

"I don't know Cece, it's a Friday night," she sighed. "The guys probably have big plans."

The Guys' "Big Plans"

Mario World's music now filled the messy living room, as Natsu lazily fingered the controller trying to propel his Italian plumber pass the deadly, marching, man-eating plants without losing more lives. On the adjacent sofa chair, Gajeel sat hunched over, scrunching his eyebrows as he struggled to complete a crossword puzzle in the local newspaper. Shortly after, Loke emerged from his bedroom, strutting a very short, very form-fitting, blue silk robe with Sakura blossoms littered all over and paired with black sandals.

"Friday night gentlemen," he said in the grandest voice he could muster. "It's ON!"

Disgusted by the sheer amount of skin they could see on Loke's legs (specifically his thighs) the guys grimaced. Gajeel closed his newspaper with disgust while Natsu tried his damnedest to ignore him and focus on the TV. Unfortunately for him though, Loke positioned himself right in front of him and his view of the TV.

There was an awkward silence as a silent battle of wills raged on between the pinkette and the honey blonde. One, determined not to comment on the blaringly, painful sight before him, while the other stood proud in all of his foul, unsightly glory.

Natsu sighed, essentially admitting defeat. 'Fine, I'll bite,' he thought.

"What happened to you man?" he asked disappointedly.

"You like my 'mono?" Loke asked excitedly.

Natsu sighed and hung his head low. Gajeel pinched the bridge of his nose, pulling his tear ducts with it.

"Loke... what in God's name are you wearing?" Natsu was afraid to ask.

Loke gestured to his beautiful blue robe with an array of flowers on it with pride. "This, gentlemen..." he said with a smile. "...is my 'mono."

Gajeel eyed him in disgust, shaking his head. Natsu's eyes were quizzical as if he were trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. He was both confused and perturbed at the same time. He started to shake his head.

"What happened to you..."

Loke smiled and twirled around in his kimono, frilling the ends of it as he did so. He seemed almost blissfully unaware of his roommates vehement reaction.

"You weren't always like this..." Natsu continued, mainly talking to himself. He shook his head and looked up, as if he were a middle aged father trying to figure out where he went wrong.

"What are you talking about?" Loke asked innocently. He thought he looked sophisticated.

"You got so much worse..." The pinkette continued, still talking to himself.

"It's ON and PAWPPING, up in this thang! Am I right?" Loke turned to Gajeel who only slowly shook his head. Loke faltered.

"But... but guys... it's supposed to be on and popping!" he whined. "And it's a Japanese kimono! You heathens never understand anything!"

One small tantrum later...

"Yes!" Loke cried, sitting on a sofa chair, staring at his cellphone. "After a lot of begging, I got Taurus to invite us to this really cool party and-"

"Nope. I just got off three back to back shifts at the bar and I don't want to do anything other stare at this tv and waste away on this couch all weekend. I'm exhausted."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, what is it that you do for a living again?" Snarked Gajeel from the sofa cushion, face hidden behind his newspaper.

"I make drinks, ass wipe," Natsu snarked back. "It was a very hard day's work!"

Natsu's "Very Hard Day's Work"

"Warren, what the hell are they doing?!"

'You know what to do with that big fat butt!'

'Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle'

The bass dropped to the chorus of 'Wiggle' by Jason Derulo and Natsu found himself standing on one of the tables in the bar, shaking his caboose to the bass of the song while his co-worker, Max, threw dollar bills at him. The patrons all starting laughing and cheering for Natsu as he danced intentionally badly, putting his hands on his knees, touting out his butt and shaking his shoulders as a form of twerking.

"There's no woman in this place seeing me in a twerk off!" Natsu shouted.

"'Course not!" Max shouted back. "They don't got the sauce my brother!" Natsu then lent him a hand to climb on top the table with him, and they both started stiffly twerking.

The women in Fairy Tail became hysterical with laughter and cheers.

Meanwhile from behind the bar, Makarov, their boss, and their other co-worker, Warren, watched them in total fury and hidden amusement, respectively.

"I think you should know better than to ask me about those two boss," Warren said, drying shot glasses with a relenting smirk. "They kinda just do what they want."

Makarov's bushy white eyebrow twitched as the chorus came around again and the two men started to do the tango on the table, with Max as the man and Natsu as the woman. Max twirled him around, and one of the women watching put a rose in Natsu's mouth with a flirty wink.

'What the fuck am I watching?' Makarov thought to himself.

"I swear to God, those two are gonna be the death of me..." the old man trailed off pinching the bridge of his nose.

The bridge of the song finally came around and Natsu and Max faced their crowd, looked at each other, and as if they were communicating telepathically, then clapped their hands together and started doing the same thing, that is, jumping in all four directions on the table wiggling their crotch. The crowd went absolutely crazy.

When the two boys were done, they slipped down from off the table and started dutifully clearing tables of used glasses, and taking orders to refill drinks. All the excitement pumped the atmosphere with a buzz that made customers want more alcohol.

"Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyy," a woman beckoned to Natsu as he was balancing two trays full of empty glasses, with nothing but ice and straws in them carefully. The woman with her orange hair in a bun, grabbed onto one of Natsu's arms, pleasantly surprised by his thick biceps, before stuffing a few bills in the front of his shirt.

"There's a little tip in there for you," she said breathily, the poignant smell of alcohol filling Natsu's nostrils. "Is there... maybe something else... I can do for you?"

Her suggestion wasn't at all subtle, but Natsu was hardly fazed. This was a bar, and alcohol tended to made people bolder, sometimes ALOT bolder, and in worse case scenarios aggressive and stubborn. Nonetheless, Natsu never took flirting from any of the patrons seriously no matter how much they tried to convince him (or themselves in the moment) how serious they were. They were customers, and as much as he liked fooling around on the job and having fun, he made it a personal rule to never cross that boundary with someone on the other side of the bar. It's also ensured that he was able to work there longer.

Natsu smirked at her, resting one of the trays down and taking the bills and handing it back to her. "I'm sorry, I can't really take this. Our dancing is mainly for our own amusement, but we're always happy to amuse our customers too." He leaned closer to her and gave her a devious toothy grin, lowering his voice. "Now if you really want to do something else for me, you can order one the House specials... I recommend the Fairy Sphere. It's my personal favorite although most people go for the Lumen Histoire. However, I always make my Fair Spheres with a spicy kick. Haven't got a complaint yet."

The woman lost her breath for a second staring into Natsu's pretty, brown eyes.

"Does the drink come with the man?" she continued.

"Oh but of course," he said in his own flirty tone. "I'm your humble bartender all night 'till closing."

After a moment, the woman backed her face away and laughed. "Natsu, your loyalty to Fairy Tail and this job are both truly admirable."

Natsu smiled and bowed graciously. "I'll have your special right out, Jess."

"You can't deny it though boss," Warren said as both he and Makarov observed Natsu. "Natsu does have a certain... charm to him. I mean, not to sound weird or anything- but he's just got this... uncanny ability to draw people to him; to make people want to be around him, to feel him, to root for him. He's the reason why we have so many loyal customers now. Plus, his drinks are otherworldly. Although, I'll give the slight edge to Max there. Max's drinks are the stuff of legends."

Makarov sighed.

"They're lucky they have a friend who constantly reminds me why I shouldn't fire them."

"Much obliged."

The night was still young and Natsu was stuck there until 6:00am. As such, he continued to do what he did best: produce satisfied customers. He and Max returned behind the counter and hours went by in a blur of taking orders, mixing drinks, taking tabs and cleaning glasses. As it was nearing closing time, the bar was a desolate wasteland with the exception of a few stragglers which included, a shabby, middle-aged man with a five o'clock shadow, two drunk girls in the bathroom throwing up their insides and a quiet, soda-sipping brunette who had been in the corner of the bar most of the night babysitting the same glass of Sprite.

Exhausted, Natsu walked over to her with a yawn. "Hey," he offered with a smile.

Sensing what he was going to say, she pointed to the bathroom. "I'm just waiting on my friend to come out the bathroom and we'll be out of your hair! I'm the designated driver," she added quietly.

"Oh cool, cool, I wasn't trying to make you feel like I'm kicking you out or anything! Just wanted to make sure everything was alright since it's about closing time, you know?"

The woman smiled sweetly and fixed her glasses. The truth is, she'd been there hours before her friends arrived, simply trying to work up the courage to talk to Natsu, as she watched him work. Seeing how popular he was, she simply decided against it and that's when her friends caught her.

"U-um... my name's Daphne, by the way," she said boldly.

"Daphne, huh?" he said her name thoughtfully. "Like Daphne with the glasses in Scooby-Do?"

"Actually that's Velma," she corrected. "Daphne's the redhead who was really into Fred."

Natsu hung his head low in embarrassment and laughed. "Aw man, my bad," he laughed some more. "You've got to excuse me. I'm kind of off my game right now. I'm basically running on fumes."

"Oh, I can see that," Daphne said cheekily. "Being the best twerker in the world isn't an easy cross to bear. One can only imagine"

Natsu bellowed out in sudden laughter. The night seemed so long, he'd almost forgotten about that himself. The girl couldn't help the buzz she got from making the handsome stranger laugh. After all, he seemed like one of those guys who was good at making everybody else laugh, so making him laugh felt like a badge of honor.

Just then, they heard the sounds of a toilet flushing, signifying Daphne's friend was finished and that it was time for her to go. As such, she handed Natsu her credit card to pay for her drink as well as the last few drinks her friend had before she started writing something on paper. After the transaction went through and Natsu returned, Daphne slipped the piece of paper to him.

"What's this?"

Natsu picked up the paper curiously before looking back at her.

A phone number.

Natsu looked back at her, slightly deflated, trying to think of a polite way to tell her he'd rather not, but seemingly sensing what he was about to say again, she quickly responded.

"I know you might think I'm just another girl at your bar, who's just hitting on you thoughtlessly... but I promise I don't really drink that much so you won't see me coming here again, and I just... I really want to talk with you some more, so... so if you feel the same, you can always contact me... and we can always talk some more."

Natsu sighed and shook his head slightly. "Daphne... I-

"I'm serious," she said with a small smile. "That is... if you want... we can always just talk."

Natsu noticed as the woman walked out the bar with her unsteady friend, that her cheeks were flushed, but it wasn't the kind of flushed that came from alcohol. He looked at the piece of paper with her number on it again in intrigue.

Gajeel lifted his upper lip at Natsu defiantly when he was done telling his story.

"Again, what the fuck is it that you do for a living?"

"Fuck you."

"And you!" Gajeel turned to Loke. "Are you even wearing underwear? What is between you and that chair?"

"Just a little bit of sunshine," Loke smirked.

Gajeel chuckled in disgust. "All right, take off that kimono please."

"It's my leisure wear Gajeel. Look I worked 80 hours this week. I just wanna come home, put on my 'mono, and just hang loose man. Hey, I get it... you don't have a job, so I'm sure it's impossible for you to understand."

Gajeel's eyes widened as he leaned into his chair, taken aback. Natsu's eyebrow's shot up at Loke's massive, yet unintentional bit of shade. Everybody knew that his current status of being recently sidelined and unemployed was a touchy subject for Gajeel. The pinkette looked between both parties on the edge of his seat, waiting to see just how Gajeel would react.

"R-really? Wow, it just got real in here," Gajeel said while angrily folding his newspaper. "You don't want to take the kimono off? Fine!" He stood up defiantly and unbuckled his belt. "Then I'm not wearing and pants!"

With that Gajeel shimmied off his pants, leaving only his yellow shirt and his boxers.

"Mmm-hmm! Everybody just wants to walk around this house wearing all kinds of stupid shit, then guess what I'm gonna do Celeste?!"

"Not where I was expecting this to go all..." Natsu whispered underneath his breath.

Gajeel quickly scanned their crowded coffee table and picked up a folded napkin.

"I'm gonna wear a napkin," he said unfolding it. "On my face! BAM! How you like that?!"

"That doesn't even make sense Redfox!" Loke shouted defiantly.

"It makes perfect sense!" He retorted, stuffing more unfolded napkins in his shirt like he was stuffing a bra.

"It is totally different than me wearing my key-mono! You are laughing in the face of thousands of years of samurai culture, and you know what? It's an affront Gajeel, it's an affront," Loke finished, getting up and angrily pointing his finger at him.

"Look at me now man!" Gajeel showed his new tissue boobs, with additional tissue stuffed in his nose and behind his ears to look like he had really long gray hairs. All this, while he was still pant-less. "This is the vibe we have in the house now because of you, since you wanna walk around here looking silly!"

"This kimono was HANDCRAFTED ...in China."

At this point, no matter how hard he tried to solely focus on his game, Natsu's night was forever ruined. Gajeel and Loke were both standing in front of him, in front of the TV, one wearing a tiny silk kimono and the other pant-less and... well very confused.

Natsu sighed.

He looked up from his controller blankly at the two of them.

"Loke, I think you should take off the kimono."

"Um, Cece, before I let you in, can you promise not to do your usual thing? These are really good guys, so best behavior."

Cana nodded dutifully as Lucy returned to finding her loft key and unlocking the door.

"Hey you guys, I brought-"

When Lucy opened the door, she and Cana found Loke and Gajeel arguing on the couch over Natsu. Gajeel was completely covered in napkin paper like a mummy and Natsu had a pillow over his face which he was hoping would either muffle the noise or smother him to death (whichever came first). He only let the pillow down to peak at the door.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked nervously.

When Cana emerged from behind her, both Gajeel and Loke did their best to appear cool.

"Oh nothing."

"You know it's a Friday night... just... chilling."

"Okay, I'm gonna use the restroom."

When Cana disappeared, Lucy scuffled over to the guys and beckoned them closer.

"Okay, ignoring whatever weird thing is going on in here..."

Gajeel cleared his throat.

"I should've called you guys about this beforehand, but Cana's going be to staying here for a couple of days and-"

"What?" Natsu took the pillow off his face completely.

"I know! I know! But she's going through this really crappy break up and she just needs a place to stay for the weekend and she's really vulnerable right now- look. Cana's drunk, and when she's drunk, she's really touchy, really grabby and basically has no boundaries whatsoever, so try and keep that in mind when dealing with her okay? And I apologize in advance for anything she might do."

Gajeel and Loke could hardly hide their excitement as Lucy spoke.

"Guys? Hello?"

"H-huh? Oh, well that's good to know"

"Yeah, thanks for letting us know bunny girl."

Natsu rolled his eyes at both of them.

"Thanks you guys, you're the best!"

'I feel like Bruce Lee, well I've got the glow yo'

'Girl look at that body ah'

'I work out'

Cana, Loke and Gajeel were gathered by the radio on the kitchen counter, dancing indiscriminately to 'Sexy and I Know It' by LMFAO. Well, Cana was drunk dancing by the radio with Gajeel and Loke competing in some weird primal mating calls beside her. The music was loud enough to overshadow anything Natsu tried to play on the TV, so he shut it off and attempted to finish Gajeel's crossword puzzle instead.

"This is the opposite of what I wanted this weekend!" Natsu shouted miserably over the music by the couch.

Apparently hearing the opposite of what he said, Cana beckoned for him to come over. "Hey you! Come dance with me Dragneel!"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Are you shy? Would you like me to dance on you to loosen you up?"

She ran in front of him, placing her hands on his shirt and lookin him up and down. Natsu felt thoroughly disconcerted. Sure, Cana was pretty and had a rocking body, but she was Lucy's friend, and all of their interactions in the past (which were few and far between) had lead him to interpret their relationship as either begrudging rivals or mortal frenemies.

"I can do all the work, if you think you can handle this..." Cana continued flirtatiously.

Stuck on the sidelines was a fuming Loke and an oddly turned on Gajeel. "Woah."

The blonde's jaw dropped. "Why does he get all the attention?"

"Okay that's enough," Natsu said, prying her hands off of is buttons. Cana wouldn't let up though, holding on so tight that she ended up popping two of is buttons. "Okay see, now that was a sew on..."

Lucy finally reemerged in the living room with a fluffy pillow covered in a new pillow case, sheets, and a comforter. "Alright Cana, it's time for bed."

"Oh, you can go in my room!" Loke offered.

"Wanna come with?" Cana turned to Natsu.

"Okay," Natsu raised his arms in the air in defeat. "Super uncomfortable right now,"

Lucy rolled her eyes and dropped Cana's bedding haphazardly on the couch. "I'm going to sleep."

Natsu watched as she retreated to her room, but his attention was pulled again as Loke was confusingly guiding a stumbling Cana to his room. Natsu got up and stood by his cousin.

"Dude are you sheep-dogging her?" Gajeel asked with folded arms.

"Not there... over there, wait no! Over here, over here... there we go."

Once Cana was in his room, plopped on his bed, Loke shut the door behind her and raced back to the living room to rub it in the guys' faces.

"She's asleep in my sheets right now, not yours bro!" He said getting up in Gajeel's face. "Mine! Parkour!"

"What the hell is he...?"

Gajeel watched in near disbelief as Loke started running up the sides of the wall and doing backflips and pushups, all while yelling 'parkour'.

Natsu could only laugh. Gajeel nudged him. "Where did you find this guy man?"

"I don't know, one day he just... showed up when I was hanging out with Gray and he's never left since."

Once Loke was done with his celebratory workout session, he flipped both of his roommates the bird before sprinting like a madman down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Hey, at least this tires him out right?" Natsu offered, while passing his cousin a beer.

"Not enough."

Natsu woke up early the next morning to the smell of eggs and bacon wafting from the kitchen. He met Lucy by the stove frying an omelet, dressed in a black and green sun dress, paired with black flats, and a black bow that tied her ponytail. The blonde was clearly ready to take on the day. Natsu smiled at the sight.

"Morning," she said, sensing she had company. "Want some breakfast?"

"No, actually."

"Oh... okay. Hey, so thanks for being so cool with Cana staying over by the way."

Seated on the stool by the counter, Natsu had to bite his tongue to keep from instinctively telling his roommate what he thought about her friend's visit.

"...Sure."

Lucy turned around upon his tone. "Is there a problem?"

Natsu paused for a moment.

"Well yeah," he sighed, casually taking a bit of scrambled egg from Lucy's plate. "Having your best friend come over to crash didn't exactly fit my description of what I wanted this weekend."

"Don't worry about it Natsu. I know Cana may seem like a handful, but once you get to know her, I promise you she's really great."

The omelet now out the frying pan and divided between two plates, Lucy turned around to fry more bacon. Eyeing both plates, Natsu decided the omelet with slightly more cheese on it was Lucy's because he knew Lucy had a strange knack for eating cheese like a rat. Although, that also could be for Cana, since he also knew that Lucy was the type to give a guest the best of everything she had to offer.

Not wanting to take a risk though, Natsu decided to take a little off of both plates. That way it's even.

He chewed his stolen food thoughtfully. "Tell me, did she ever have to come crashing at your place when you still lived with your ex?"

Lucy turned around confused, and Natsu also cleverly finished his chewing by then. "Well yeah... a few times. But she's my best friend and she'd do the same thing for me in a heartbeat."

"And I'm not saying she wouldn't... but don't you think you have a tendency to try and help people, even when people don't need it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying," he said in a disarming voice. "Try remembering to take care of yourself first sometimes," he said, stealing more of her food.

His words trapped Lucy in a daze for a moment, but she came to her senses at the motion before her. "Are you eating my breakfast?"

"Hey Cece get up, I made your favorite!"

Cana sat up on the blonde's bed, towel hanging around her neck from when she took a shower in their bathroom, hair in a French braid and she sat comfortably in Lucy's loungewear.

"Awww, thanks babe," Cana carefully took the plate of breakfast food and rested it on the bed next to her. "Hey, so, you aren't mad at me for trying to dance on Natsu last night are you?"

"What? Why would I be mad?"

"Wait, so you aren't mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Lucy sat on the other side of the breakfast tray on the bed, looking at the girl confused.

"Great," Cana said with a sassy smirk before sipping some orange juice. "Cause I think Natsu's got a crush on you."

The model dropped the bomb so casually but all of the explosions took place in the confusing maze that was Lucy's body. She felt her heart stop beating for a moment. Then the sound of her labored heart was all she could hear. "What?"

"Oh come on! You can't tell me you don't notice how flirty he is with you... all the time. Don't think I haven't noticed how well you two get along together... how he looks at you... how he talks to you... he even gave you that nickname Luce-"

"Cana, in what deluded reality that you clearly exist in, did you think all of those instances are flirting?"

"Hey, don't get mad at me Lucy, I'm only trying to help-"

"Well I don't need your help Cana! These guys are my living mates, and I'm just trying to get them to accept me, and I think... that they're really starting to, but all of that is going to be messed up if you just waltz up in here and start meddling!"

"How is this meddling? I did the same thing in the seventh grade when Nick from Home Ec was trying to give you a gift for Valentine's Day but you thought it was for me, remember?"

"Natsu and I are just. Friends." Lucy stressed.

Cana scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You can't be 'just friends' with any of these guys Luce. You live under the same roof as three very hot, very single guys. Don't you think that every single one of them has thought about sleeping with you?"

"That's only cause you seem to think that everyone wants to sleep with everyone all the time."

"Uh, they do. That's why I think that," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Come on Lu, don't you hear how he says your name? Hey Luce, come see this dumb thing I did Luce, or hey Luce I've got this dumb joke to share. It's always Luce, Luce, Luce, Luce, Luce, Luce, Luce!"

"Cana. He's from Magnolia. If you're hearing some sort of accent, that's where it comes from."

"I'm not talking about some stupid accent Lucy!"

'Knock, knock, knock'

"Hey can I come in?"

Both girls froze.

"Sur-"

"NO!" Lucy cut Cana off.

"Uh, okay," Natsu sounded confused. "Anyway, Luce, I'm going to the store and just wanted to ask if you needed me to pick up anything."

Lucy jolted at the sound of him calling her nickname. She didn't hear it before but she heard it just then. The way he said her name with just a bit more tender and care than the other words.

'Crap.' She shook her head. She needed to make sure to keep Cana out of her head.

Sensing the inner conflict on her face, Cana looked at her with a knowing smirk.

Lucy warned her with her eyes. 'Don't you dare say it!'

Their internal monologue was still however, internal, and the silence stretched on suspiciously too long for the man outside the door. "Hello?"

Before Lucy realized what was going on, Cana jumped up from the bed with a vengeance and opened up the door.

"Natsu!" She greeted.

Lucy's stomach filled with dread at the mischievousness in her tone.

"Lucy's coming with you to pick up that thing she said she needed to get," Cana lied seamlessly. "Right Lucy?"

"That's actually not right-"

"You said you'd get it for me, remember? Otherwise, I can go with him and get it myself-"

"NO!" Lucy's sudden bellow left a painfully awkward silence in it's wake. She started to turn red in embarrassment as all eyes turned to her. All she could think of in that moment was Cana in a car with Natsu possibly planting ideas in his head about Lucy that weren't true. Or worse.

She'd come right out and ask him.

"I meant, no... thank you. I'll be right there."

Lucy's heart started hammering more and more as this scenario played out in her head. Natsu looked at her and compulsively, she looked away. It was the strangest thing. She suddenly felt nervous at even the thought of him looking at her.

He didn't seem to take note of any of her inner dilemma at all. He immediately turned back to Cana. "Okay cool."

He turned back to Lucy. "I'll see you in the car in like, ten minutes then."

"Sure thing... bro." She said as normally as she could muster but as soon as the 'bro' came out of her mouth, she regretted it immediately. Even Cana was looking at her strangely.

Natsu blinked.

"Did you just call me bro?"

After Natsu left the room, Cana closed the door behind her, hardly containing her excitement as she scrambled back over to Lucy on the bed.

"Tell me I'm crazy now!" She cried indignantly before squealing with excitement. Her voice was so high-pitched, that she was two octaves away from going super sonic. "Did you hear the way he said your name? I know you did cause I saw the look on your face when he said it. I knew it! I knew that he liked you!"

"Hush before someone hears you Cana! And I really think you're overinflating this between us-"

"Quick, tell me what's you're type!"

"Oh ummmm, I'd really like someone who's nice, personable, really handsome, who can make me laugh..."

"And that's totally Natsu!"

"Cana, I feel like you and I are talking about completely different people. For one, Natsu is just about the meanest guy ever, and two, we are just friends!"

"You know what, fine, I could admit I might be wrong," Cana said with a small hand wave. Lucy let out a heavy sigh of relief at even the slightest indication that her relentless friend was giving up her on her incessant notion that her roommate was into her, but the blonde might've spoke too soon.

"But just remember this: all living things will subconsciously position their feet to point at what they want. That is the one thing I remembered from living with that psychology major when we first moved out here in L.A."

"Okay so did we need any Listerine?"

Natsu eyed the items in the hygiene section thoughtfully, as he held the shopping basket in his hand with Lucy trailing quietly behind him. She was too busy watching an old, married couple argue in the produce aisle over some sort of vegetable. They took a step forward and Lucy noticed that even in an argument, their feet were pointed towards each other. Cana's words echoed in her mind.

Natsu turned around after a while of hearing no response, and the first thing Lucy noticed was that his feet were pointed at her. She took a small step sideways so that they wouldn't.

"What-what did you say?" she stammered.

"Are you listening to me?"

Lucy noticed he shuffled a little to meet her face-to-face at her changed angle and his feet followed.

"What are doing?"

"Nothing... bro. Just standing like a friend."

"Okay, is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just, I want to go home."

"We have to get the toilet paper first-"

"No!"

Natsu's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean no?"

"Because I don't use it!" Lucy yelled frustratedly.

Pause. Natsu turned to face her fully.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that you don't use... toilet paper?"

In the car, a strange silence settled over the pair, one that Natsu found especially strange since he knew Lucy was one to talk about anything. "Okay, spill it. Now. What is up with you?"

"Why do you treat me like that!"

Natsu was jolted by her sudden aggression.

"Like what?"

Lucy couldn't find the right words. Different? Special? No, none of them fit right.

"... you know what, nevermind."

"Look Lucy, if I did something to offend you, I'm sorry. You've been acting really weird today."

"You didn't do anything to offend me Natsu, it's-"

"Is this about what I said about Cana? I know she's your best friend and all, I was just saying it doesn't make you a bad person to make sure you're okay first before rushing to go take care of someone else."

The two ended up caught in a traffic jam and Natsu noticed a young vender selling flowers. He called him over and paid for a rose.

'Maybe this'll cheer her up,' he thought.

'Why would he get me a red rose?' Lucy was panicking. 'Doesn't he know what that means?'

Lucy sighed. Cana might be right, but if her friend was indeed correct, she needed to nip this in the bud.

"Look, I'm sorry but I'm not interested."

"That's cool, I can get you a different kind of flower if roses aren't your thing-"

"No!"

And with that, Lucy reached her limit, unbuckling her seatbelt and started running down the sidewalk.

"Lucy, what are you doing?!" He yelled at her with confusion.

Back at the loft

"It's like on one hand... I'm straight killing myself, but on the other hand, I'm making all this baller dough, you know?" Cana sprawled herself across the length of the couch reading a magazine, leaving no room for anyone else to sit. Loke sat next to her on the only other living room chair trying his best subtly impress her.

Gajeel entered the living room and slapped a hand Loke's bare back which was sunburned from a previous attempt that day to impress which involved a fake phone call that Gajeel also foiled.

"Ow!"

Gajeel chuckled sitting on the very edge of the couch by Cana's legs. "Told you to take that oil off dumbass."

"It's okay, in a few days I'll be brown, just like you Cana."

Cana looked up from her magazine at him with raised eyebrows. Very quickly realizing he's made a fatal mistake in choice of words, he desperately began stringing together an explanation to supplement.

"Um, you know, cause of your culture-"

"What is my culture Loke?"

Gajeel's eyebrows flew up looking between the two. That wasn't a subject he wanted to touch with a pole right now.

"Um you're... Jafla... Jaflanese? Umm Sa... Sa-Saudi... Saudiboo? M-monga-"

"Mi familia es de Puerto Rico," she put him out of his misery

"Puerto Rico, totally. Love Puerto Rico."

"Sure he does," Gajeel interjected enthusiastically. "Hey Loke, why don't you tell her about all the things you just love about Puerto Rico?"

"Uh, sure," he said uncertainly. "I love, you know, uh, I love West Side Story... flan, uh, pepper, I love all peppers, I love Daddy Yankee, the stories of Luis Torres. I have respect for parrots, of course..."

With every item he mentioned, Cana's eyebrows just kept going higher and higher. Gajeel was getting a kick out of this as Loke wasn't done listing.

"I love, uh, El Morro, In the Heights, you know anyone named Jose..."

At this point, Gajeel was trying his hardest not to laugh while Cana shook her head.

"Take a lap man," Gajeel interrupted. "Refresh."

"Gotcha."

Cana turned to Gajeel, impressed. "That was pretty good," she said nodding at him before picking up her magazine again. "You're working a little too hard though, watch this- LOKE!"

The blonde halted his jog around the living room immediately and turned to Cana. "Yo!"

"Go up to the roof."

"Yeah, I'm going to go up to the roof," he said with a goofy grin.

"I'll be there in ten minutes, she said absentmindedly, turning a page of her magazine."

"Cool, see you in like ten," he said before sprinting away.

"That was absolutely-"

"Make me a sandwich."

"Sandwich," Gajeel repeated before getting up.

"You!" Lucy stormed in the loft and immediately spotting Cana alone on the couch. "You did this!"

"Hey sweetie, so how'd it go?" Cana asked melodically.

"His feet were pointed at me the whole time and I couldn't stop swiveling around to get out of it's direction. Gosh Cana, now it's weird because he's my friend and I've never looked at him that way and-"

"Ha! So I was right!"

"Is it the way that I dress?" Lucy asked in continuous distress. "Am I dressing to sexy? Do I need to wear even thicker pajamas? Less girly dresses? Or maybe its the way that I talk... Or it could possibly be my posture, you know I have really sexy posture..."

"Oh, don't worry about it compa, I'll ask him for you-"

"No, you will not," Lucy interjected. "That's only gonna make things worse."

"Hey, where is he anyway? I didn't see his car pull up..."

"Uh..." Lucy's eyes frantically darted around the room as she tried to think of a way to reasonably explain that she got out of his car at a four way and walked home... not before getting lost first.

"LUCY!"

Kicking the door open was a livid Natsu who was carrying two bags full of groceries with a knot in his eyebrows and a firm scowl on his face. "What the hell was that back there?! Why did you jump out of my car in the middle of traffic?!"

Cana's eyes bulged. "You did what?"

"I was feeling... hot..."

"Hot enough to JUMP out of my car?! Hot enough to not turn on the A/C?!"

"I'm really sorry-"

"No, no, save your apologies okay, because I had to spend an hour walking up and down the strip in the freaking L.A heat after YOU wouldn't answer any of my calls! And then when I couldn't find you, I came back home, only HOPING that you made it back alright!"

Lucy faltered at Natsu's wrath, something she had never experienced before - at least not directed at her - and it might've been the scariest thing she'd ever experienced in her life. His anger was justified however, and Lucy only felt worse imagining how her wonky behavior might've come across to him especially without any reason.

Natsu paused, taking a few breaths. His eyes softened, as well as his voice. "I was really worried had happened to you, okay?"

His words caused Lucy to catch a breath, as she felt her heart melt at his words. Cana's eyes lit up as she looked between the two.

"You can't just go walking around this neighborhood, carrying bags of toilet tissue... that you don't even use," he finished gesturing to the plastic bag she rested on the coffee table.

"Wait, you don't use toilet paper?" Cana turned to her confused.

"A lie I told him at the store because I was panicking," the blonde quickly whispered. "Of course I use toilet paper Cana!"

Natsu left the living room without another words, carrying the groceries with him to disperse around the loft.

"Did you hear that?" Cana said quietly over Lucy's shoulder. "He's saying that he cares about you-"

"Oh my gosh!" Lucy turned to her in disbelief. "No!"

"I am so gonna make this happen for you as your friend-"

"He cares about me, as a FRIEND!"

"This is so on, Luce."

"No, it is not-"

"I'm trying to help you Luce!"

"No!"

"My face is my job, my face is my job-"

"Okay Cana, no seriously!" Lucy said in a stern voice. It sent a chill down Cana's spine as she straightened up and listened to her friend with a hint of fear in her gut.

"Has it ever occurred to you, that maybe you think Natsu has feelings for me because you have, absolutely no concept of what a healthy relationship between a male and a female looks like whatsoever?"

The small hint of dread instantaneously sunk to the pit of the brunette's stomach like a pebble, doubling in size.

"You've never had any male friends before Cece, and that's because all the males you ever hang around with, you're either sleeping with them or are planning to! What Natsu and I have is good, and special, and deep, and purely platonic- and that's okay! Not every guy who gives you an ounce of attention or respect you need to be involved with - like that stupid DJ from Europe!"

"You're right."

"I'm sorry. I just made that personal for no reason.

"No you're right. _ is the worst."

"It's just, I've always been a little jealous of how you walk into any room and demand all the attention. Me? I've always had to work hard to get people to notice to me. To get people to care. That's why I value all the friendships I have, because they're hard earned. Even the ones with the guys. Which is why, I don't like how you always insert yourself in a situation in my life and start taking over. It's like you're playin mind games with people..."

"Hey, hey, don't put this back on me Luce, I'm just trying to help you! Sweetie, I've never seen you make the first move. And I've watched over the years as you let many a guy slip away - some of whom I thought would've been good for you - because you've never acted on any of your feelings."

"But Cana, I'm not asking for your help. I like moving slow whenever I have feelings for someone, and I like taking my time. I'm not like you who can jump in the sack with the first European DJ that has diabetes."

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"You heard me bitch."

Cana recoiled for a moment, before a cheeky grin replaced her confused expression as the fact that her friend said a naughty word unprovoked sunk in.

"Ohhhhh, the B-bomb. I've taught you well," Cana said as she smiled at her, and Lucy smiled back.

The sound of a horrified scream, put an official end to the conversation followed by crashing sounds on the roof. Both girls looked up worriedly, when it clicked for Cana that it was Loke that was upstairs.

"Oh, no..."

"What was that?"

Cana got up and crawled over Lucy to quickly get to the door. "Crap!"

"Cana? What happened? What did you do?"

On the rooftop, Loke stood bareback and terrified as he stared in the eyes of death itself - the feral gray cat that hangs out on their roof sometimes. He let out an ear curdling scream before scrambling behind some of the lounge chairs that he turned on their side to create a makeshift fortress. The stray cat meowed before jumping on the ledge and walking to a corner full of random treasures he had been collecting there for a couple of weeks.

Lucy opened the door leading to the rooftop trepidatiously, tiptoeing around the potted plants adorning the scenery and the other lounge chairs on her way to her blonde friend.

"Hey Loke," she greeted sympathetically. "How you doing? Can I sit with you... on your... cooler?" She asked, noting that he make a makeshift chair out of it behind his wall.

"Yeah. Just chilling on the roof. Hanging with the cat. Holla..." he finished unenthusiastically.

She smiled empathetically at him. "I'm sorry that Cece did this to you."

"Nah, it's okay," he shook his head. "I'm used to it. I guess I'll always just be the fat kid with the big dreams."

Lucy's heart felt burdened at his words. "Come on Loke, that's not true. Okay listen, I love Cana but she's not ready for you. You're a really good guy Loke. You know, if we focus all the things you do unintentionally and ignore everything you do intentionally."

Loke paused as he processed her words. "Thank you so much."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "She'd eat you up."

"You really think she'd eat me up?"

"Definitely."

"Like buffet style? That all you can eat? Cause I got that prime rib yo'," he gestured to his abs.

Lucy smiled and nodded again, even if the smile was faltering a little bit. Loke wasn't done yet though.

"Carving station, plates are warm, sneeze guard, kids eat for free. I mean, except for the... except for the kids part. I don't want any kids partaking in a buffet with my body as the metaphorical analogy."

"All right, well, let's go Loke. Let's go inside," she said, gently touching his shoulder as they both slowly got up. She couldn't help but notice his wicked sunburn.

"Do you have any Aloe Vera you can use on that?"

"No, I ran out."

"Well, you can burrow mine buddy."

That night after a hot shower, and a self-massage session with some of Lucy's Aloe Vera gel to soothe his sunburn, Loke was clean and ready to hit the hay. He was... emotionally exhausted and ready for the blissful reprieve of sleep to transport him to the next day and recharge his batteries.

'Knock knock knock'

"Come in," Cana answered.

There was of course, the matter of Cana still sleeping in his bed. Cana description.

"So look," he said and took a deep breath. "I get it. This," he gestured between the two of them, "is never gonna happen. I get that, I do, but it's been a really long day, I've already been blistered by my sunburn and I just want to sleep in my own bed."

"Okay."

Cana's immediate submission surprised him, to say the least. He didn't quite know what to say, but he figured he was better off not questioning a blessing (lest the brunette change her mind).

He made his way over to the bed and snuggled himself under the covers as Cana moved over from the center of the bed to make room for Loke. Once they were both under the covers, there was a sizeable margin between them as they both stared at the ceiling.

"I'm really sorry about today," Cana said quietly. "I can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."

There was a silence that stretched between them was awkward. Nobody wanted to move though.

Then, Loke broke the silence.

"I hate sleeping alone."

The brunette turned her head in the slightest to face him.

"When I was a kid, I grew up in a small house with a lot of siblings. We were all adopted but that didn't make us any less brothers and sisters. I had to share a room with three of them, two sisters and a brother, and I'm sort of used to sharing everything with them. Even the space."

Cana turned to watch him fully as he watched the ceiling. His eyes seemed faraway though, as if he was watching his childhood self and adopted siblings run around in their house.

"It's weird though cause even though I live in a house with three other people, when I go to my room like this, I feel like I'm all alone."

Loke's brave bout of honesty moved somethin within Cana, and his words sunk deeper and deeper with her as the silence stretched on.

"I get it... how you feel..."

He turned to her as she turned to him.

"It went from being just me and my mom, to living with my extended family when she died. Mi tia y su esposo took me in with their ninos and their ninos, and mi abuela and abuelita were living with us too. Essentially, I could never have anything to myself in that house and I was treated somehow as both the grown-up and the child when it suited them. I felt like I was mothering my cousin's kids more than they were sometimes... but ever since I moved out, I've felt incredibly lonely. Even though I live in a place shared with other models from my agency, it does feel lonely."

She took a pause.

"I think... As much as our families got on our nerves, I think you and I are the types to just value those bonds over anything else."

Cana's words struck a chord with him. He'd never sat back and really though about how he viewed the relationships in his life before now, but now that she said it, he realized she was right.

He was abruptly taken out of his daze though when he felt a creeping sensation on his hand. He flinched while looking at it, only to realize it was Cana interlocking her fingers with his. His eyes widened. He looked at her, only to realize she'd rolled over to face away from him.

"If you ever tell anyone we did this, I have three people in my phone that I can call at any time who can kill you. Literally."

He looked back at the ceiling, not being able to contain the shit-eating grin forming on his face. He looked over at the nightstand for his cellphone, and extended his free hand to get it.

In the living room

Gajeel's phone buzzed a few times in between the cushions of the couch seats before Gajeel reached down and was able to find it.

"Yo."

"I told you I was a closer! And fuck you too by the way!"

"Okay, what are you talking about?"

"I am holding hands with her RIGHT NOW... this definitely feels like closing."

"What so you're in- you're in the room right now, and she let you sleep in the bed?"

"Yes exactly!"

"What is wrong with you? There are a million other things you could be doing right now but instead choose to call me? Hang up the phone."

"I just needed you to know that I did it! I closed."

"We could literally have this conversation at any time..."

On the other end of the phone was slight rustling and Loke heatedly hushed Gajeel. The rustling soon stopped.

"Okay we're good."

"And just so we're clear, what you've done is a very far cry from closing."

"Well you may need to rearrange your definition of the word, because like I said, this feels like closing to me."

In the bathroom, Natsu and Lucy were both brushing their teeth in their respective sinks quietly. Lucy spit out her paste as quickly as possible not being able to bear the silence between them.

"Hey, so I'm really sorry for worrying you today. Not cool."

Natsu spit out the paste in his mouth to answer. "Eh, don't worry about it. Keeps me on my toes I guess."

"And I'm really sorry that I acted so weird today. Weird!"

Natsu chuckled at her. "It's okay."

Once Lucy was done brushing, she got a capful of Listerine and gargled her mouth with it before spitting it out. Noticing that Natsu was done too, she extended the bottle and cap to him.

"Listerine?" she offered shyly. He looked at the bottle and cap, and then her for a moment, before they both busted out in laughter. Natsu took the bottle afterwards.

Hey all!

So this chapter was very spur-of-the-moment (I literally started it last Thursday and before I knew it, I was done). I have been siphoning all my time to school related things since September (like I stated in my last A/N) since things are a lot busier for me lately. It's my senior year, I've got a new full time job and I'm avidly trying to keep my mental health afloat. As such, I couldn't really focus on this story, HOWEVER, I felt a very strange and potent burst of creativity last weekend and the words for this chapter just flowed out of me like water lol.

As always, thanks for all the lovely and consistent feedback, particularly from Meow of Orbit, samurai of sunflowers, LadyNerdyNerf, anneryoko, queenuly14, Copperreign12 and rao hyuga18. One of the reviews very accurately predicted that this chapter was going to be a mess based off the title alone XD.

Special shoutout to the LadyNerdyNerf, who started watching New Girl because of my story!

Until next time!

Next chapter title (and I swear I didn't plan this LMAO): Thanksgiving