Prompt #'s

25, "I can't believe you talked me into this."

30, "It's not what it looks like…"

31, "You lied to me."

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Natsu whined.

"Hey I had to do this once too y'know!" Lucy scolded as she tied her blonde hair into two pigtails. "Besides someone ripped the only suit they had in my size."

"But Lucy!" Natsu carried on. "It's a bunny suit!"

Frowning the blonde looked him over. Natsu stood before her wearing a large white rabbit suit with floppy ears and no opening save for a small hole for his face. Lucy couldn't help but smile smugly at him.

"Aww but it looks so good on you!" she teased.

Lucy, Natsu, and their team had once again agreed to work at old man Nijima's 8 Island restaurant. The last time Lucy had agreed to work there it had been with just the girls and so she fought a little less violently against having to wear a full body bunny suit. This time however, Gray and Natsu were present.

For once Lucy refused to cave and be the one to wear the humiliating outfit this time. Erza had tried to volunteer, but all present couldn't help but agree she was too eager. Happy, Wendy, and Carla were all too small and naturally Natsu and Gray refused.

In the end they had decided to resolve the issue by drawing straws. Wendy was designated to find the straws in question as well as to be the one to actually hold them in order to prevent any of the participants from cheating. And the result was satisfying to everyone save for Erza (who was jealous) and Natsu (for obvious reasons).

Erza didn't press the issue since she had been the one to suggest drawing straws in the first place. Natsu on the other hand had resisted. He had kept insisting that they redo it and only stopped when Erza threatened him.

So Natsu had been left to stand in front of the restaurant in the humiliating outfit and be the one to hold up the sign. At first everyone had worried that someone might make fun of Natsu and the boys explosive temper would flare up and scare the customers away. But as it turned out, no one had paid him much attention. The only ones who did were kids and thankfully Natsu wasn't the kind of guy who punched kids in the face for being curious.

And Lucy had to confess. She was enjoying herself.

The whole scenario felt like a sweet case of karma. The number of times Natsu had tricked or convinced Lucy to wear downright weird costumes for jobs were too many to count. They had always been part of some dumb plan he was convinced would work, but almost every time backfired horribly.

The maid outfit had been the first and Lucy knew she only had herself to blame. Natsu may have been joking that time, but she was convinced that that stupid outfit had been what set everything off. He never had anyone else dress up in weird outfits nearly as often as her and recently it had begun to bug her.

Why was it always her? Why not someone like Erza who enjoyed wearing weird things? But nope, even if Erza was there it was always Lucy he singled out.

She was beginning to feel like he did it all on purpose. That he picked on her because he knew she hated it but that she was never in a position to say no. Lucy had told herself that she was being crazy. Natsu wasn't that mean spirited.

But the doubt repeatedly resurfaced.

She didn't like doubting him. Despite how much he irritated her, Lucy had to admit that Natsu could be unbelievably sweet. He was dedicated, loyal, and capable of great kindness. They were all traits that lucy lo-liked about him.

Of course Natsu was also mischievous. He pulled occasional pranks on all of his fellow guild members when he was bored. They were never harmful, but it could be annoying. Lucy questioned if there was any prank he wouldn't pull, so long as he was convinced that it wasn't harmful.

Still this whole thing with the bunny suit made her feel oddly satisfied. If Natsu could feel how humiliating it was to be made to wear such things in public maybe he'd stop making her do it…

Oh…

Lucy smiled to herself. Now that was an idea.

"You lied to me." Natsu lamented.

"No I didn't." Lucy told him casually. "I told you I had a plan. This is the plan."

"This is a dumb plan." he argued angrily. "This isn't going to work!"

"Oh man up!" she crossed her arms and pouted. "Do you wanna catch that fish or not?!"

"I'm dressed up as a worm!"

"Aww but you're such a cute worm." If she didn't know any better Lucy could have sworn he'd blushed at that.

"I don't care I'm not doing it!"

Finally having enough, Lucy took the initiative and shoved Natsu into the water.

He flailed about in surprise as she yelled down to him. "Now when the giant man eating fish finds you, just beat it up like you always do!"

Natsu successfully killed the sea monster that had been terrorizing a local fishing village. And thanks to having the fight out at sea and wanting to end things as fast as possible he only destroyed a dock and two ships. While it took a big bite out of the reward, Lucy was still left with enough to make rent that month and then some.

Things had been playing out fantastically.

Before this she had made him wear a teddy bear costume, a maid outfit, and had even made him dress up as a clown. Lucy was running this for all it was worth and was wondering what she should make him wear next as they sat in the wagon on their way back to the guild.

Natsu, as usual, was rendered completely useless by the rumbling of the vehicle and lay forlorn on the floor of the cart. Lucy had learned some time ago that Natsu often tried to fall asleep on such trips in order to ride out the motion sickness. This time he had managed just that, and yet he still carried a sick and pained expression of his face.

Happy sat silently next to Lucy which bothered her somewhat. The little exceed was usually much more talkative than this. But hey, if it allowed her to ride in peace what did she care?

But about an hour into their trip Happy finally seemed ready to speak. "Lucy?" he asked.

"Hm?" Lucy turned to him surprised. She had been expecting some kind of joke at her expense. Instead the blue cat sounded somewhat worried. "What is it?"

"Uhm…" he began carefully. "A-are you… mad?"

"Eh?" she gave him a questioning look. "Why would I be mad?"

"I dunno." he muttered like a child.

"Oookay. Well I'm not mad." she frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. "Unless you've done something to make me mad?"

Happy suddenly looked scared, "L-Like what?"

She thought for a minute. "Have you been stealing food from my fridge?"

"No."

Pushing her lips together she guessed again, "Have you… made a mess in my house I haven't seen yet?"

"No."

His face remained neutral so clearly that wasn't it. "You haven't been sneaking in and reading my novel without permission again have you?"

Happy sighed, "Why would you think I'd want to?"

"I dunno, why would you think I'm mad at you?" she was starting to get irritated.

"Not at me." Happy looked at their sickly sleeping compatriot. "At Natsu."

Lucy blinked. "What makes you think I'm mad at him?"

"Cause you've been making him do stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"You keep making him wear stuff he hates!"

Realizing that Happy had caught on to her little game she attempted to play it off. "I don't know what you mean. B-besides," she defended. "he makes me wear weird stuff all the time! I don't see why he shouldn't do it sometimes."

"Yeah but you like that stuff."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Hey keep it down back there!" the driver complained.

Flinching at the reprimand Lucy muttered an apology before getting back to the conversation.

"I have never liked wearing that stuff." she crossed in arms in anger.

"Then why do you do it?" Happy asked. "If you don't like wearing it why don't you just say no?"

"I do say no!" Lucy couldn't believe she was having this conversation. "I've said no every time!"

"Well yeah." the cat shrugged. "But you only put up a fight for a few seconds and then put the costume on anyway. We just figured it was one of those things where you pretend to not like it cause yer embarrassed."

"Well I don't like it!" she snapped pointedly. Tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Whenever I put on one of those stupid costumes you both always laugh at me! I only ever agree to wear stuff like that because you guys keep telling me it's for the mission! A-and I wanna help out as much as I can c-cause I'm no good at fighting or anything like that."

Lucy sniffled hoping it would stop the tears. It didn't.

"Y-You and N-Natsu are always treating me like a joke and I'm sick of it! I-I just wanted Natsu to know what it feels like to be embarrassed like that!" Finally stopping Lucy began wiping her eyes with the backs of her sleeves.

"Lucy…" Happy tried to sound reassuring. "We didn't know you felt that way. Honest. Please stop crying."

Lucy carried on crying for another several minutes before finally stopping. The rest of the trip was spent in silence and when they finally arrived once more in Magnolia, Lucy grabbed her bag and hurried to her apartment. Not bothering to say good-bye to either of her friends.

She didn't bother going to the guild the next morning.

Levy came to check on her, but Lucy managed to send her off by telling her she wasn't feeling well. When her friend suggested inviting Wendy over to treat her Lucy had turned the idea down stating that she would be fine without magic. It took a couple more minutes of reassuring the other girl that she was fine before she finally left alone once more.

Lucy didn't feel like seeing any of her friends that day. She just wanted to be left alone to lie in bed and think.

Had Happy really been telling the truth? Had he and Natsu really not realized how much she hated subscribing to their silly half baked plans?

A part of her didn't want to believe that.

For one it would be an achievement in ignorance. Even for Natsu.

And for another…

It would mean acknowledging that she had deliberately tormented the fire breather over a misunderstanding.

She'd known full well that he hated what she'd made him do. He'd complained and begged for her not to make him wear those things but she'd always pressured him into it. Lucy had thought she had just been doing the same thing Natsu had always done to her. But was she?

For her she'd always caved because she'd felt she couldn't be of much help otherwise. But what about Natsu? Why had he caved into her demands?

He wasn't a weak fighter by a long shot. He wasn't insecure about much of anything from what she could see. And he had to be one of the strongest willed people in the guild by leagues.

So why?

Natsu had no reason to cave into any of her demands. Especially since he had a real sense of pride. Pulling the covers over her head in shame she realized how unknowingly cruel she'd been.

If he really had thought she enjoyed wearing dumb outfits it would explain why he asked her to do it all the time. Hell her own actions had likely prompted him into thinking that. On that first mission they'd gone on together Lucy had taken Natsu's light hearted joke seriously and gone so far as to buy a maid costume of all things.

Oh god what he must have thought!

Considering that one of the biggest female influences on his life had been ERZA growing up it suddenly didn't seem far fetched that he would make a connection like that. The beautiful redhead had an attraction to armor and costumes that most people would consider downright weird because they fit some strange definition she had of what was cute.

Turning over Lucy buried her face into the pillow.

Did he hate her? Was he mad at her? Or was he simply annoyed like she had been?

Natsu could be an incredibly forgiving person. Somehow though, Lucy didn't want that. It didn't feel right having him just forgive her like that.

Most of the stuff she'd made him wear had seemed inconsequential. But now that she reflected, Lucy realized how dangerous of a position she had placed him in. If on the off chance those silly things had gotten in his way in a fight Natsu could have been hurt. Worse… He could have been killed.

Lucy hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in them.

That one thought had been enough to crush her.

At the time she had thought nothing of it. But she had been deliberately putting her partner, her friend, in danger. She may not have realized it, but that hardly mattered.

Logically there was no reason for Lucy to blame herself. She had no way of knowing how Natsu had actually felt. And it wasn't like she had deliberately put him in danger. He hadn't gotten hurt so there was nothing to worry about.

At least that's what her brain told her.

Her heart however, was a different story.

Her heart hurt. Not physically but… emotionally. People had a habit of telling her that she blamed herself too much. But she couldn't see things that way.

Lucy lay there in complete silence. She wasn't even crying. Just lying buried under the covers in complete silence.

She didn't even move when she heard something land on the sill of her window. Or when the window was quietly pushed open. Or when a weight suddenly came down beside her on the bed.

Lucy only moved with a jolt when she heard Natsu's voice.

"Lucy?"

Pulling the comforter of her bed closer to her body she shakingly whimpered, "Go away."

But he didn't go away. Instead she could feel him crawling closer.

"Come on." he urged gently. "Come out from under there will you? I want to talk to you."

Lucy didn't want to talk. She didn't want to see him. Scared of what he'd say or how he'd look at her.

"Natsu please. Just go home."

"Yer acting weird." he sounded impatient. "Weirder than usual anyway."

He was trying to stir her up like always. But she wouldn't be baited.

"Just go." she failed to keep her voice from breaking. But that was all Natsu needed.

With great force Natsu ripped the comforter off from over her to get a full view of her tearful face. And Lucy got a full view of his face as well. As he looked at her Lucy could see some unknown emotion flash through his eyes.

For about half a second Natsu's face seemed to struggle to choose an expression. It settled for anger. "Why are you crying?" he demanded. Likely in an angrier tone than he had intended.

Her lips trembled as she hiccuped but didn't answer.

Natsu seemed to struggle to calm himself down. "Lucy," he leaned over her so he could look her straight in the face. "Tell me why you're crying? Did something happen? Did," he seemed to struggle to control himself. "Did someone do something to you?"

His questions only made her feel worse. He was worried about her. Usually she would feel touched by his concern, but now it just made her feel even more guilty.

"N-Natsu…" she cried. "I-I…"

He leaned in closer listening intently.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry…"

He blinked and backed up a bit. Clearly this had not been a response he had expected.

"Sorry? For what?"

Lucy wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps it was his innocent confusion. She wasn't sure. But she spilled out everything.

Her insecurities, how she had felt about everything, how she had come up with making him wear all those ridiculous outfits, everything.

When she finished she lay there crying, waiting for his response.

Natsu just seemed to sit there. Leaning over her with a blank look on his face. When he finally moved Lucy flinched. Carefully, gently, he began wiping away her tears.

"C'mon Luce." He begged. "Don't cry. Not over something like this. Yer always over thinking these things."

Lucy couldn't say why, he certainly wasn't saying anything unexpected, but for some reason his words were comforting. She felt as though everything was going to be alright. Just like always.

Natsu wasn't angry with her. He didn't hate her. And for some reason that made all the different.

"Lucy listen," he began quietly as he gripped her shoulders. "I've always-"

With a sudden bang Lucy's door flew open and Erza rushed in with Wendy saying loudly, "Lucy I realize you didn't want any visitor but I-"

She stopped. Taking in the full view of the scene in front of her.

Lucy was on the bed, still in her pajamas with tears in her eyes.

Natsu was leaning over her. Almost on top of her. His hands gripping Lucy's shoulders. Almost pinning her to the bed.

The mage's armor rattled as she shook, either from shock or from rage.

Carla was glaring at the two as she covered Wendy's innocent wide eyes.

Lucy was the first to realize how compromising the whole thing looked.

"Natsu," Erza's voice was like acid. "how could you?"

The dragon slayer clearly didn't know why she was so angry, but Natsu had always been a man of action. Without a word he dove out the window screeching in fear like a madman.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PIG!" Erza screeched as she summoned a sword and dove out the window after him.

"Erza!" Lucy screamed sticking her head out of the window. "Please! It's not what it looks like!"

But the celestial mage went completely ignored as the two tore down the road demolishing all in her way.

In the time it took Lucy to get out of bed, throw some clothes on, and track Erza down the whole guild had already pieced together a rather skewed story. That Erza had found Natsu and Lucy together in bed and was now attempting to castrate him for not making the blonde an "honest woman" first.

They had done it in the shower, the closet, a barn, an open alleyway, and the park apparently.

Thankfully Lucy somehow managed to convince Erza of the truth before she cut down the city's prized sakura tree in order to get to Natsu who had taken shelter in the branches.

Needless to say damages had to be paid, apologies had to sent, and Lucy Heartfilia had to convince everyone present for the happenings that she was NOT banging Natsu Dragneel.

But every time Lucy wondered why this was happening to her or if any of this was worth it, she would think back to Natsu's face and voice that day and what he had been trying to say to her.

And she smiled.

((My second prompt request for the tumblr prompt challenge!

The prompts were;

25, "I can't believe you talked me into this."

30, "It's not what it looks like…"

31, "You lied to me."

Feel free to go to my tumblr and send me a request for the prompt challenge!))