Chapter Six: Intertwined (Day Seven)

The first thought that ran through Lucy's mind when she woke up the next morning was, 'That was just a dream, right?' It wasn't until she checked her bag and found her torn shirt that she realized it did in fact happen.

She had made out with Natsu.

Multiple times.

A soft blush stayed permanently on her face as she got ready that morning, keeping quiet so as not to arouse any suspicion. Despite her friends not saying anything, she felt like they knew. Her paranoia only grew tenfold by the time they made it down to the lobby. To Lucy, it felt like everyone was staring at her... Like they knew her little secret.

She gulped as they walked up to the members of 'The Dragons', giving a small wave before following the boys and her teammates to the room where the competition would take place. She felt Natsu's eyes on her as they walked, but she was too scared to meet his gaze. So, she settled for chewing on her inner cheek while she avoided him.

When everyone went to take their seats, Lucy found herself sitting between Erza and Natsu. Her hands shook in her lap, so she kept them clenched in fists so they wouldn't be as noticeable. She was thankful when the lights started to dim and the announcer began talking, assuring her that no one would pay attention to her.

At least, that was what she thought.

Halfway into the first match, she felt something brush against her thigh. She immediately looked down, squinting her eyes to try to see in the dark. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually saw the side of Natsu's hand resting two inches from her thigh at the edge of his seat.

When she looked up at him, she saw he was still facing the front, eyes trained on the screens as if it had his entire focus. Taking a deep breath, Lucy let her hand relax, then shifted it next to her thigh so it touched Natsu's. He waited a second before he slowly grasped her hand, pressing their palms together.

Lucy let her tongue drag over her top teeth as she tried to decide what to do. She could try to go back to her old ways and push Natsu away, or she could embrace this new friendship -could she really call it just a friendship after last night?- and lean into it.

With her heart pounding a mile a minute and her palm already sweating, Lucy tangled her fingers against his until they were intertwined, the heat from his hand traveling up her arm and over her chest. She had no idea how he was able to make her feel so hot with his simple touches.

Truthfully, she didn't think she wanted to know. For now, she would just call it magic.

Lucy was happy no one could see her holding hands with Natsu due to the lack of lights. It wasn't that she was ashamed about what was happening. It was more that she was embarrassed of herself. She spent so much time and energy convincing people and herself that she didn't like Natsu, only to end up in his arms again and again last night.

Why had she pushed him away for so long? If she would have accepted his offer of friendship in the first place, she might have been a lot happier.

It was true. Even though it was brief, accepting her feelings made her feel happy, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Instead of pretending like his advances made her sick, she could actually enjoy them.

So once again, she found herself asking why she fought this for so long?

'I'm stubborn, competitive, rude, and a sore loser,' she reminded herself, sighing. She had a lot of work she had to do on herself, but wasn't that the first step? Admitting she had a problem?

By the time Lucy zoned back in to reality, the teams were already on their second match. 'Sabertooth' were in the lead, but 'Tartaros' wasn't going to be taken down so easily. Lucy remembered struggling to beat them, but she also knew 'Sabertooth' was a great team as well.

It was anyone's game.

Just like it would be anyone's game when Lucy's team went up against Natsu's.

Her hand squeezed his as a rush of anxiety flared in her chest. She needed to be the best. She needed to destroy her enemies. Her natural instinct was to leave the room so she could go practice, but she remained still, using Natsu as an anchor. She felt him squeeze her hand back, wondering why her heart flipped in her chest from the action.

It took everything in her not to look over at him, wanting to see what kind of expression he held. There were too many people around. Even in the darkness, it would look suspicious if she kept stealing glances at the man she called her rival.

Lucy watched the last matches play out. 'Tartaros' won the second match, while 'Sabertooth' won the one after that. It seemed neck and neck for a moment, but 'Sabertooth' crushed their opponents, giving them the victory they needed to earn third place.

She clapped along with everyone else. Truthfully, she wasn't rooting for either team, but the crowd seemed pleased with the results. As the lights slowly came on, Lucy loosened her grip on Natsu's hand. He did the same, not putting up a fight when she placed her hand in her lap, separating them.

She was about to stand up and leave, but her body froze when she heard the announcer speak.

"Thank you all for coming out this morning! Our next match, featuring 'The Dragons' and 'The Fairies' will be in Ballroom A at four. Make sure you come early so you can get your seats. We expect it to be packed due to the three year rivalry between these two teams!"

Lucy wished the floor could swallow her up. Here she was trying to forget that Natsu was her enemy, only to be reminded that this was the third year they were fighting in the finals together.

Lucy's team won first, then Natsu's team won. This year would basically be like their personal two out of three to see who was better.

She chose a bad time to let her guard down.

'Natsu's not messing with you. He's not messing with you. Breathe. Breathe.' She tried her best to calm herself down, worried that she was making a huge mistake by spending time with Natsu. She wanted to win, but she also wanted to keep her new friend.

'He said he wanted to be friends either way,' she reminded herself, but the stress didn't fade. It lingered in her mind, a dull thrum that wouldn't go away.

When the game was over and the announcer dismissed everyone, the two teams decided to walk around the convention center. They had been too busy the past two days with their own competitions that they didn't get a chance to look around.

While Gray, Juvia, Erza, and Jellal went to a room where a panel about upcoming games was being held, the others went to the dealer's room to look at merchandise. Lucy found herself drifting away from the others as they walked past the different booths.

She got distracted with some decals for controllers, finding she liked one with a soft pink background and little yellow stars decorating it. She wasn't exactly made of money after leaving home, but she had enough to splurge every once in a while, prompting her to buy one that would fit her controller back home.

After receiving her merchandise in the bag, she continued looking around. While reading the back of a case for a game she hadn't heard of before, she felt something brushing her arm. Jolting, she looked over, her heart slowing down when she realized it was just Natsu's fluffy scarf.

"Hey," she started, setting the game down. "Find anything you like?"

He nodded, a small grin on his face that he tried to conceal, but Lucy saw right through it. "Yup. What do ya think?"

He held up a small white plushie, an orange cone in the shape of a nose and two black button eyes sown on it. It had a smile on its face with its short arms stretching forward, as if reaching for something.

Lucy's lips parted as she took in the sight. Her hands came up to touch it, but she quickly pulled them back, not wanting to upset Natsu if he didn't want it being touched. "It's a Nikora," she breathed, admiring the stitches. She could tell it wasn't manufactured in a warehouse, instead being homemade.

"You like it?" Natsu asked, causing Lucy to tear her gaze away from the plushie to look at him.

"It's so cute!"

Natsu's smile grew as he pushed the plushie closer to her. "Here."

"I can hold it?" she asked, taking it from him so she could feel the soft material against her fingers. Its eyebrows were curved as if to show it was nervous.

Nikora was a species in one of the games Lucy used to play as a child. Each one had its own personality. Some looked exactly the same, while others had slightly different appearances. This Nikora looked identical to the most common type, but its expression was unique.

"You can have it," Natsu said, tongue playing with his lip ring from inside his mouth. When Lucy looked up at him in shock, he mumbled, "I got him for you..."

"You did?"

He nodded, jerking a thumb somewhere behind him. "A lady was sellin' them and some other stuff. I thought you might like it 'cause you played the game..."

Lucy was speechless for a moment, her brain trying to keep up with what he said. 'He... he got this for me...' Lucy couldn't remember the last time she got a present from someone who wasn't her close friends. She swallowed, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Th-thank you," she whispered, feeling her heartbeat triple. "I-I don't know how to repay you."

He shook his head, cupping the back of his neck as he avoided her gaze. A small blush tinted his cheeks and nose as he said, "No need to thank me. Just promise you won't toss it out or throw it at me."

She could hear the mix of teasing and nervousness in his tone. She smiled, bringing the plushie to her chest to hug it. "I'll never throw it out," she promised, lowering her head so she could rub her cheek against it. "I love Nikoras! Thank you!"

Before Natsu could say anything, her head snapped up. "Wait a second! I never told you I played that game! How do you know?!"

"Uhh," Natsu started, clearly thrown off by her question. "Y-you mentioned it before..."

Lucy shook her head, narrowing her eyes. She tried to sound threatening, but even she heard the mirth in her voice. "No, I didn't. Spill it, Natsu, or I really will throw it at you."

Natsu's eyes grew wide. "But you promised..."

"I promised I wouldn't throw it away. I said nothing about tossing him at your head."

The flush spread over his face as he scrambled for an answer. "I- uhh, well..." He gulped, taking a half-step back. "I may have... looked through your F-Facebook..."

Lucy's shoulders fell as she cocked her head. "You did?"

He was surprised when he didn't hear any anger in her tone. "Y-yeah..."

"Oh," she started, slowly nodding. "I guess that makes sense..."

"It does?" he asked incredulously. 'Why isn't she throttling me?'

"Yeah. I mean, I kind of figured you were doing it anyways after you started sending me messages, but I didn't know for sure." Lucy bit at her bottom lip, hoping the heat in her face wasn't coming out as a blush. After she got her first message from Natsu, she went through her profile and made a few things 'public' so he might see them.

She tried convincing herself she was just doing it to aggravate him, making the photos of the competition where she took first place 'public' in the beginning, but slowly, she started making more things 'public' that had nothing to do with the competitions and more to do with herself. Though, she kept the pictures of herself in a bikini for 'friends', not wanting to attract any creepers.

She already got harassed enough. She didn't want to give them more reasons to bother her.

"You're not... mad?" Natsu asked cautiously, stealing a glance at her face. She didn't look angry, but he wanted to make sure.

Lucy shrugged, holding the plushie closer to her. "Honestly?" She looked around them, seeing no one was paying them any attention. "I... may have..."

Natsu leaned in, curious. His jaw dropped when she finished, not expecting that answer at all.

"I've looked through your page too."

"You have? Really?" It wasn't that he thought she was lying. He just never thought she'd want to browse his profile. She made it seem like he annoyed her. He didn't think she would be interested in learning more about him until he finally convinced her to give a friendship with him a shot.

"Yes," she admitted, feeling heat spread to her neck and chest. She knew for a fact she was blushing now, no way to hide it. "A... a few times."

Natsu felt his lips quirking into a smile, amused and honestly a little relieved that she did that. 'So, I wasn't the only one snooping.'

He didn't know it, but she saw more of his profile than he did of hers. She kept parts of hers private so only her friends could see, while his was all public. He never posted anything incriminating or too embarrassing, so he saw no problems with sharing it with the world. It wasn't as if he had stalkers or creepers lurking around.

"Are you mad?" she asked, but he immediately shook his head. "That's good..."

The two avoided each others gazes, giving them a moment to recover from their flushed faces and racing hearts. They were both snoopers, trying to learn more about the other person without anyone knowing.

Lucy sighed, realizing once again she could have saved so much time and energy by just accepting his friendship when he first presented it instead of acting like he was some evil entity.

"So," Natsu started, hoping to break the awkward silence, "wanna grab a bite to eat?"

Lucy nodded, feeling hungry now that he mentioned food. "Should we ask if anyone else wants to join?"

Natsu wanted to say 'no', but he nodded instead. "Sure." He could deal with sharing Lucy, as long as it meant he could still hang out with her. Though, he liked hanging out with her alone more. She was able to relax when it was just them and she didn't have to hide their friendship.

He didn't ask why she was pretending they weren't friends, despite everything that happened between them during the last twenty-four hours. He thought they would be openly friendly towards each other now, but Lucy apparently had other ideas.

He didn't push her, hoping she would come around when she was ready. If he could wait this long just to be her friend, he could wait a little longer.

Everyone met in the cafe for lunch. Lucy ended up sitting with her teammates with 'The Dragons' on the opposite side of the table, but she didn't let that bother her. It was probably better that she put some distance between her and Natsu. The competition was only a few hours away, and she honestly wasn't prepared mentally. She had to get in the right state of mind.

However, that was hard to do with a certain cute plushie sitting in her lap. She could've put it in her purse, but she wanted to keep looking at it every time she glanced down. Just like with the picture of the cherry blossom tree on her phone, her heart flipped when she saw it.

On their way to the elevators, a devious plan popped into Lucy's head. Despite what she thought earlier about needing to distance herself from Natsu, she wanted to spend just a small amount of time alone with him. Earlier had not been enough. She was greedy.

Everyone was heading back to their rooms to get ready for their interviews. The teams who made it to the finals would have an hour long panel where one of the officials for the tournament would ask them questions, then they would open the questions up for the audience. Lucy wasn't particularly fond of that part, but she knew she didn't have a choice in the matter.

When the elevator door opened on their floor and a few people walked out, Lucy let out a gasp, staring at her empty hands. "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Levy was the first to ask, followed by Juvia and Erza.

"I think I dropped my plushie! I can't find him!"

Natsu's eyes grew wide as he stepped back into the elevator. "I'll help you look for it."

Lucy gave him a sad smile. "Thank you."

"Don't take too much time," Erza said as she and the other girls exited the elevator. "We don't want to be late."

Lucy nodded, keeping up the facade. "It's probably still in the cafe, so it shouldn't take too long."

When Lucy and Natsu were the only ones on the elevator, she hit the 'door close' button. Once the elevator started moving, she quickly pressed the button for the floor below them, causing Natsu to frown.

"I thought you needed to look for your plushie?"

Lucy avoided his gaze as the elevator came to a stop, opening the doors to allow her to leave. She heard Natsu following her, his intense stare felt in the back of her head. She didn't let that get her off track, leading him to the stair well, hoping no one else would follow them.

When she entered, Natsu finally spoke up. "I took my pill today. I'm fine with takin' the elevator."

Lucy shook her head, walking off to the side before standing against the wall. "We're not going to the cafe."

"But your Nikora?" Natsu started, his voice a mix of confusion and hurt. "I thought you liked it?"

Lucy nodded, unzipping her purse to show him the little plushie inside. "I do."

Natsu furrowed his brows, taking a step closer to her. "Then why-"

His voice cut out when she reached out, grabbing onto his arms before pulling him closer. Natsu had to brace himself with a hand on the wall before he fell into her, but he didn't get a chance to ask her what she was up to. Soft plush lips crashed into his, her eyes sliding shut as her grip tightened on him.

It didn't take long before Natsu was melting into the kiss, his hands coming up to cup her flushed cheeks as he coaxed her to play with him by dragging his tongue along the seam of her lips.

Surprisingly, even though they were sober, their kiss was more clumsy than last night. Lucy accidentally pulled at his lip ring, causing him to wince before he tried deepening the kiss, only to end up with them both pulling apart after they clicked their teeth together.

They stared at each other, eyes wide and mouths parted. It took a second, but a lazy grin spread over Natsu's face, a chuckle escaping shortly after. Lucy laughed too, feeling ridiculous over their failed kiss. Instead of dwelling on it, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug.

She loved the way his warm, solid chest felt pressed against her. Natsu was easily the hottest man she had ever met, so the fact that he chose to not only befriend her, but like her too, left her stunned and flustered. She really didn't deserve him. He was too kind and patient for her, even if he could be a bit of a wild card himself.

Lucy sighed, content despite not getting what she wanted. She was hoping for a quick make out session, something to get her hot and bothered without going too far, but this was good too. Just hugging Natsu made her feel better, reminding her that this tournament was just that, a single competition. It didn't run her life, not if she didn't let it.

Lucy was okay with not kissing, so she was surprised when Natsu tried again, this time gently pressing his lips against hers. They took it slow, building up until they were both panting, clinging to each other as they denied themselves air.

Natsu was worried they were moving too fast, but damn it, her lips tasted too good and his heart was pumping like crazy. He couldn't stop, but he had to. If they kept this up, they would miss the interviews and the match.

And wouldn't that be an anticlimactic ending to this year's tournament?

He thought about asking her to be his girlfriend as soon as he sucked in some air, but he kept the thought to himself. Despite the events of the last day, he still had his reservations. He had to see how she was after the competition before he allowed himself to give her his heart. It was only natural to be cautious after the way she treated him for years.

Still, he hoped it would work out, no matter who won.

"We should go back," Lucy mumbled, but her feet stayed planted on the ground.

Natsu snorted, bending over to pick up her purse before slinging it over his shoulder. She raised a brow, cocking her head as he adjusted the bag before opening his arms.

"May I carry you?"

"What?"

Natsu tore his gaze away from her for a moment while he collected himself. When he looked back, his expression was serious. "May I carry you?"

Lucy bit her inner cheek, her heart slamming against her chest as if it wanted to get to him. Not only was she going to get to be lifted by his arms again, he was asking permission this time! She didn't think she could nod fast enough.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her effortlessly before slinging her over her shoulder, wrapping an arm around her thighs, right under her butt. "Hold on tight," he joked before heading up the stairs, his grip tightening on her so he could use one hand to hold the rail on his way up.

Lucy giggled as he walked up the steps, her heart racing as she saw them get higher and higher. She was a little scared, afraid she might fall and hurt herself, but she was putting her faith in Natsu. If anyone could carry her to their floor, it was him.

By the time he made it to the next level, Lucy's face was as red as a tomato. Luckily, Natsu's wasn't much better. They headed down the hall, keeping their laughter at a low volume until they reached Lucy's door. She gave him a brief hug, whispering another thanks for the plushie before separating.

She waited until Natsu reached his room before using her key card on the door, her small smile resting on her lips as she entered the room.

Only, something seemed odd when she peeked around the door. All three of the girls were in the bathroom by the front door, each looking at the mirror with their hands mindlessly messing with their hair or make up.

All Lucy had to do was narrow her eyes at them through the mirror before one of them cracked, revealing the truth.

Levy flinched, swallowing thickly before she said, "H-hey Lu. Did you have fun with Natsu?"

Lucy was quiet, staring her friends down as she debated her next move. Her brain's automatic response was to lie and deny, but she was able to push that voice down, instead saying, "Do you know?"

"Know what?" Juvia feigned innocence, but Erza ruined it a second later.

"We saw the elevator only went down one floor. Weird, I remember the cafe being much lower than that."

Lucy sighed, her head dropping. Honestly, she was tired of the charade. "I wanted to... talk with Natsu. We're..." She chose her words carefully. "We're trying to be friends."

"That's wonderful!" Juvia gushed, leaving the bathroom first to give Lucy a hug.

"I'm proud of you," Erza said, making Lucy shrink. She was always embarrassed when people told her they were proud of her, even if it made her feel accomplished and worthy.

Levy was the last to join the big hug. "It's about time!"

When the hug ended, Lucy gave them a short summary about what happened yesterday at the arcade bar. She didn't mention bringing Natsu back to their hotel room last night, though, judging by their mischievous smiles and waggling eyebrows, she figured they knew something was up.

Lucy also left out the part about kissing him earlier, finding it not relevant to her new friendship with Natsu. Her friends could be quite meddlesome if she didn't stay on top of things.

After she finished explaining, her friends nodded, each one of them telling her she was doing the right thing.

"It's only a silly contest after all," Levy said, but that only caused Lucy's cheek to twitch.

It wasn't silly to her, but she let the comment go. Her friends were on her side and only wanted her to be happy, just like she wanted them to be happy.

"I'm sorry for freaking out about you guys talking to them. It wasn't my place. I'm happy you found more friends."

"Actually," Levy started, but Juvia finished.

"Gray is Juvia's boyfriend."

"Wh-what?" Lucy asked, blinking as she let that soak in. "He's your boyfriend?"

"And I'm kind of dating Gajeel too."

"Erza?" Lucy asked, turning to the redhead.

She kept a straight face, but Lucy saw the faint blush on her cheeks. "It's complicated, but we've talked about taking things to the next level."

Lucy dropped her shoulders and her jaw. She couldn't believe just how much her friends were involved with 'The Dragons'. Hell, considering everything her and Natsu did last night, they might have been married by now if she would have tried to be his friend two years ago!

"I'm..." she started, feeling a rush of warmth spread through her chest. "I'm happy for you all," she said honestly, a genuine smile gracing her lips.

"Really?" Levy asked, earning a nod from Lucy.

"Yes." Her smile was short-lived when she glanced over at the alarm clock, catching the time. "But for the next few hours, they're our opponents. We have to put aside friendship and win this. Afterwards," a small smile returned as she shrugged, "you can do whatever you want. As long as we give it our all out there!"

"YEAH!" her teammates cheered, everyone's expressions turning serious with determination.

Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Jellal might have been their friends/romantic interests, but for now, 'The Dragons' were their enemy, and they needed to crush them.

Lucy sat in the backroom with her teammates. 'The Dragons' were being kept separately until the competition began. The interview had gone just as well as the year's before. She kept a calm demeanor and answered every question to the best of her abilities, thankful that the attention was split four ways. When it finished, they found themselves here.

Lucy stretched out her legs and fingers, moving her neck around so it wasn't too stiff. In less than twenty minutes, the match would begin. When she was satisfied with her body's readiness, she turned to her phone for entertainment. She wanted to wait until her friends were finished stretching before going over their strategies, wanting them to be completely focused on the plans.

Lucy clicked the button to bring her to her home page, which was Facebook. Her brows furrowed when she saw she received a new message. She clicked it, breath hitching when she saw who it was from.

Natsu Dragneel: Good luck, Lucy. May the best team win.

She had to force herself not to think he was messing with her. Honestly, she shouldn't have been on her phone this close to the competition, but Natsu also shouldn't have sent that message. Her paranoia was threatening to get the better of her.

She had to count to ten slowly, taking deep breaths between each number before she was able to look at her screen again. With a calm mind, Lucy typed her message back, hitting 'send' before she could change her mind.

Not too far away, Natsu's phone vibrated, his messaging app alerting him that he got a new notification.

He almost couldn't believe it when he saw her name pop up on his screen. She had actually replied.

Lucy Heartfilia: May the best team win. Good luck to you too, Dragon Boy.

Natsu couldn't help but snort, oddly liking the silly nickname. He didn't reply back, knowing she needed time to prepare. He did too, his heart thrumming and his underarms sweating. He was nervous to face off against 'The Fairies'. They were a force to be reckoned with.

"Is everyone ready?" one of the officials asked, giving a thumbs up when all of Natsu's teammates nodded. "We'll bring you out in a minute."

Natsu swore that minute was two seconds. Before he knew it, they were being ushered into the room with their seats, headsets, and controls.

"The game will begin in five minutes."

Natsu wanted to call bullshit, but he said nothing, taking his spot at the end while his teammates took their seats. Despite this match being set up like all the others, he knew this was going to be different. Now he wasn't trying to fight for Lucy's attention. He already got that and then some.

Now he was just fighting for his team and himself, which felt really weird to him, who based his whole professional gaming career on one girl.

Stupid, he knew, but that didn't change the facts.

"One minute."

Natsu gulped, taking a deep breath as he slipping on his headset, checking the mic before his other teammates did the same. He couldn't test out the controls yet, but he figured they were find. He knew 'The Fairies' wouldn't play dirty, even if their captain was a little dirty.

Natsu flushed, shaking his head to get the image of Lucy underneath him out of his head. 'Damn, what the hell did she do to me?'

He almost wanted to laugh. 'Was this what Lucy felt when she said she thought I was trying to mess with her?' He could understand how that might be distracting, constantly thinking about his opponent's motives.

Natsu nearly jolted when the screen started its countdown. He quickly selected his guns and perks, going as fast as he could before the timer ran out, starting the game.

His blood was pumping and his mind was racing as the game began, rushing forward to eliminate his enemies...

Including Lucy.

Natsu wasn't surprised it came down to the fifth game. 'The Dragons' had two points and 'The Fairies' had two points. They were playing 'Search and Destroy', just like they had so many times before. Each team was fighting their hardest, dragging each single game inside 'Search and Destroy' to the end. The game would be won when someone won four of the mini games within, and so far they both had three points.

This was it, the very end.

Once the game began, Natsu sprinted to the bomb so he could grab it. Once he was sure he was in control of it, he ran to the closest bomb site, wanting to end the match as quickly as possible. His chest tightened when he heard the voice in his mic say, "Bomb Activated."

He had just planted the bomb, meaning they had forty-five seconds to defend it. If that happened, his team would win. If it didn't, well, second place wasn't so bad.

"Fuck!" Jellal yelled through the mic. "I'm down."

"Don't worry," Gajeel grunted a second later. "I killed Levy and Juvia."

"So just Erza and Lucy left?" Natsu asked, carefully going through one of the doors that led to the bomb he activated, waiting for someone to strike.

"Not for long," came Gray's response.

Natsu looked at the map, seeing Gray was heading his way. His eyes widened when he heard Gajeel say, "Damn it. I'm down too, but I took Erza with me."

"Protect that bomb, Natsu!" Gray yelled through the mic.

He nodded, though none of them could see them, eyes glued to their screens. Natsu turned around, heading towards the other entrance when his breath hitched. There was only one member of 'The Fairies' left, and they were currently sprinting towards him.

'Lucy.'

He pressed the aim button, locking onto his target. When he went to fire, he froze, fingers not doing what his mind was screaming for him to do. Five long, grueling seconds passed, but he still wasn't able to shoot. As if in slow motion, he watched as the timer for the bomb trickled down.

0:14

0:13

0:12

0:11

0:10

His heart beat doubled as soon as the beeping in his mic started doubling for every second passing.

Natsu wanted to press that fire button, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He saw Lucy pull up her shotgun, sprinting closer to him to get a better shot. For a second, Natsu was going to let her take him down, but that changed when he heard his name being called in the mic.

"NATSU! SHOOT!"

He didn't know who shouted at him, but it was enough for him to remember this wasn't about Lucy. This was about his team. He pressed the button to fire, hitting her four times before she finally went down, the screen changing due to their victory.

The bomb never went off. It didn't have to as long as everyone on the other team was eliminated.

Everything was a blur after that. He remembered getting patted on the back before they were ushered out on the stage in front of the large screen, the lights back on so they could see the crowd of cheering people. The announcer said some stuff, but Natsu's focus was lost to them, his mind a jumbled mess.

He felt good and terrible that they won. It was unlike what he felt last year. He was happy then, ready to face Lucy and see her reaction. Now he was scared, wondering what kind of hateful thing she might say.

He gulped when it came time to shake their opponents hands, easily getting through the first three girls until it came down to Lucy. His hand lowered a few inches, remembering she never shook his hand last year after he won.

Natsu saw the dull look in her eyes when she glanced up at him, the corner of her lip quirking up. She extended her hand, the words slipping out of her mouth making him feel all the more confused.

"Great game. Congratulations, Natsu."

He tried to respond, but he couldn't even open his mouth. He felt her softer hand slip into his, taking control of the shake before separating from him, walking off with the rest of her teammates.

Natsu stood there with his team, surrounded by a crowd soon after 'The Fairies' left. He kept his eyes trained on the door, the last place he saw Lucy before she disappeared. He couldn't help but think, 'Is she okay?'

When the crowd disbursed and 'The Dragons' were left alone, 'The Fairies' went back into the room. There were people in the background taking the equipment down, but they went ignored by the eight gamers.

While everyone else started talking about the competition -and admiring the shiny first place trophy, Lucy asked Natsu if they could speak alone.

She watched as he gulped before nodding, following her to the corner of the room, away from prying ears. They sat down in some seats, facing each other. Seeing the petrified look on Natsu's face made her realize she was going to have to start this, sighing as she began.

"I watched the last kill cam."

Natsu's fingers curled into fists on his lap, but other than that, she saw no signs that he heard her.

"You had that shot for a while."

Still, silence. She cocked her head, wondering what was going on in that brain of his. "Natsu?"

He blinked, seemingly coming out of whatever daze he was in. Clearing his throat, he apologized for zoning out. When Lucy brought up the last shot again, his chest tightened, the same feeling he got when he activated the final bomb.

Natsu ran a hand through his spiky locks, avoiding her gaze as he admitted, "I... I wasn't gonna shoot ya..."

Lucy shook her head, gaining his focus. "I wouldn't have wanted to win like that anyways."

"You wouldn't?" he asked, earning another shake of her head.

"I can't say I'm glad we lost," she started, pausing when she saw his lips press into a hard line, "but, I'm happy you won. I guess second place isn't the worst thing in the world. Besides, there's always next year, so watch out." She gave him a wink that made his heart flip, but that feeling was replaced a second later.

Natsu shook his head, sighing. "The guys and I talked before we came here. This is our last year."

"What?" Lucy asked, her jaw dropping. "Why?"

He shrugged, fiddling with the ends of his scarf in a nervous manner. "We're graduating soon. Everyone wants to kinda move on with their lives." His lips tugged in a half-smile. "I wish they'd keep playing, but I'm happy for 'em."

Lucy found herself asking, "And you? What are you planning on doing?"

Natsu chuckled. "I have two more semesters I gotta do before I can graduate, but after that, I'm hoping I can use my degree to get my..." A small blush tinted his cheeks as he said, "My dream job..."

"Which is?" she asked, not remembering seeing him say anything about his dream job on his Facebook. She knew what he was majoring in, but he could use it for a few different things.

"I wanna design and make video games. I've already contacted a company that does internships. That's what I'm gonna start doing once we get back to Magnolia. Kinda get my foot in the door, ya know?"

Lucy nodded, her eyes softening. "I want to write codes for video games, maybe even do some dialogue and plot plans if they'll let me, but I know I have to work my way up from there. My dream is to work for 'Sony', but we'll see."

Natsu's green eyes brightened. "Me too! They have a branch in Hargeon and Onibus! But I'm gonna try for Hargeon!"

Lucy smiled, leaning back in her seat. "Maybe one day we could work for the same branch? The one I'm looking at is in Onibus."

Natsu bit his inner cheek, wondering if he should ask. "Maybe... maybe I could look more into the Onibus one...? It's a little smaller, but it's still good. You know, if you don't mind... that is?"

Lucy shook her head slowly. "I wouldn't mind at all. Might be nice working with you." She smiled, a soft chuckle accompanying it. "We might push each other to do better."

Natsu nodded, a fire burning in his eyes at the challenge. "That'd be awesome! We should-"

"Hey Natsu! Lucy!"

The two turned to see Gray waving at them from their group. "We're gonna go get something to eat. Wanna come?"

Natsu turned to Lucy, a hopeful look on his face. "I'm kinda hungry. You?"

"Starving."

They stood up to join their group, their conversation on hold for the moment until their stomachs were satisfied. While they ate in the cafe, 'The Dragons' broke the news that this was their last competition. Though, Lucy realized quickly it was just for her sake. Erza, Juvia, and Levy didn't seem all that surprised, meaning the boys probably already told them.

However, what Lucy wasn't expecting was for her teammates to say something similar.

"I think I'm a little tired of competing," Levy was the first to say, followed by Juvia and Erza.

"It takes a lot of time," Erza said, barely able to meet Lucy's gaze.

"Juvia doesn't mind so much, but she's okay either way."

Lucy sighed, realizing what they were all wanting to say without saying it. They wanted to stop competing just like the Dragon Boys. As much as she wanted to protest -and trust her, she wanted to protest, she simply nodded. "We'll talk more about it later, but okay."

What was she going to do? She couldn't exactly force them to compete. 'Or could I?' Lucy quickly shook the thought away. She couldn't, and she knew that.

The rest of their meal/dinner was a little awkward until a new conversation started.

Lucy dismissed herself first, throwing away her food before heading upstairs. She wanted to be alone for a while after hearing the news. She knew they would want to stop eventually, but she had hoped they could end it on a good note, with their last tournament resulting in winning first place.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't look like she was getting her wish, but she had to accept that. Her friend's feelings mattered more than this tournament.

As Lucy pressed the elevator button, she heard someone step up right behind her. She turned slightly, eyes widening when she realized it was Natsu, a wane smile on his face.

"Do you mind company?"

Lucy didn't have to think about it long.

"Not at all. Come on."

After yet another make out session -she couldn't seem to keep her hands off him when they were alone, the two started playing video games together. Natsu was using Levy's account while Lucy used her own, playing 'Team Deathmatch' with her Black Ops 2 game.

Truthfully, Lucy found it weird being on the same team as him, but she liked it. Together, they were unstoppable. Of course, they were playing against normal people who didn't compete for a living, but the feeling was still empowering.

"Hey Lucy," Natsu started after they won another match, the screen flipping from the last kill cam to the stats. "I have a question."

"Shoot," she said, a grin on her face from the wordplay.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Wh-what?!" Lucy blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question.

A hint of a blush spread over Natsu's face as he tried again. "W-will you be my girlfriend?"

She swallowed, heart pounding as she slowly nodded. "I-I'd like that."

"You would?" he asked, surprised.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah." She bit her bottom lip, drawing his eyes there for a second before she said, "I was kind of hoping you would ask, but I didn't think you were going to..."

"I was just nervous," Natsu said, keeping the reasons why he was nervous a secret.

"I can understand why," Lucy started. As if reading his mind, she added, "You probably wanted to make sure I wouldn't get mad after this game, huh?"

Natsu felt his skin burn hot as he nodded. "Is it that obvious?"

"A little," she teased, leaning back against the headboard. They were both on her and Levy's bed, only an inch or two of space between their legs.

Lucy pressed a few buttons to take them out of the next match so they could keep talking. She picked up her phone, going to Facebook to send a certain pink haired Dragon Boy a friends request, along with a message with her phone number.

When she looked up at him, she said, "I've never done long distance, but I want to give it a shot with you."

Natsu smiled, his nervousness fading as excitement rushed in. "Awesome!"

She giggled as she put the phone away, grabbing her controller. "Want to keep playing?"

He nodded as he got ready. "Bring it."

Lucy shifted a little closer to him, their shoulders touching. "Let's crush them!"

A fire burned in their eyes as they joined a new match, working together to bring their enemies down.

Lucy wished she would have known how much better her life would have been if she would have just accepted Natsu in the beginning, but there was nothing she could do about now. She was just happy things happened to work out. There were so many ways this could have ended in a disaster.

Natsu was thankful he finally got his chance to be Lucy's friend, even if he didn't expect it to lead to more right afterwards. He was happy with how things turned out, but the journey was definitely bumpy, having more downs than ups, but he pulled through in the end.

And now, they had a friendship that was already starting off strong and a relationship that took off like a fire to dead grass, burning away the old to make room for the new.

Nine Months Later

Lucy followed the person in front of her down the aisle and off the train. She had a backpack on, as well as her purse. She didn't think she would need more. She was only staying for the weekend.

Stepping onto the train station's platform, Lucy looked around. She frowned when she didn't see any familiar faces.

'He said he'd be here...'

She started walking to the side to get out of people's way, pulling out her phone so she could call her boyfriend. After hearing the first ring, she heard the sound of a wild Pokemon attacking a few feet in front of her. Looking up, she saw a blur of pink running towards her.

Lucy jolted, shocked when he stopped a few inches in front of her, almost crashing into her. "Sorry, Lucy," he panted, hands falling to his knees as he hunched over. "Alarm... clock... didn't go... off."

Lucy smiled, finding the fact that he ran here amusing, especially since he seemed to have forgotten a shoe in the process. "You could have just called me. I would've waited."

Natsu shook his head, glancing up to give her a strained smile. "Nah," he started, standing up to wrap her in his arms. She could feel he was still breathing hard, but she loved the hug regardless. He was so warm and comforting. "Can't keep you waiting."

Lucy smiled, heart thrumming fast as she felt his arms tighten. Despite talking on the phone last night, it felt like she hadn't seen him in forever. Then again, it had been months since they last seen each other in person.

"So," she started, pulling away. "What part of Magnolia do you want to show me first?"

Natsu grinned, grabbing her hand before intertwining their fingers. He had missed holding her hand while being apart. "I wanna show you my apartment!"

Lucy laughed, allowing him to pull her. "Was that really your plan? Or do you just want to go back and get dressed properly?"

"A little of both," he confessed, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the beautiful woman. "I want you to meet Happy first. That okay?"

"Of course!"

She was excited to visit Magnolia after all this time. She had been looking forward to it since he visited her in her hometown a few months ago. Not only did it seem fair for her to visit him, she wanted to check the place out. The way he went on and on about how awesome Magnolia was, she had to see it for herself.

And, she was excited to see her boyfriend again. Long distance was hard, but Natsu made it all worth it. If only she wouldn't have been so stubborn earlier. She had been a lot happier ever since she intertwined Natsu into her life.

The End.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this short story! Please let me know what you thought of this story. I had a lot of fun writing it and seeing your reactions with every chapter. Thank you!

I don't know if any of you are interested, but I wrote a sequel/epilogue for this story. It will be posted in my 'Various NALU One-Shots (Rated M)' story. It will be Chapter Five, and it will be called 'Wild'. The first part will be rated T, so you can read up to that if you want without reading the smutty parts. The rated T and M section will be divided by one of these 'XXX' so you can stop or continue reading if you wish. :) It's around 8.7K words, so it'll be pretty long, though most of it is smut. :P

If you do not wish to read the epilogue, that's fine. I think this ending is good too? What do you think? I'm so glad I was able to participate in nalu week again. It's been a lot of fun (and stess, haha). Hope you enjoyed!