"Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation. You gaze first, then it's time to drink."

-Haruki Murakami

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Whiskey Burning

by AbsentAngel

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Natsu, in all the time she had known him, had never been seen with a drink in his hand, let alone drunk. An oddity, Lucy realized, considering just about everyone in the guild (the children excluded of course) enjoyed their fair share of alcohol. So it was only natural for her to be curious about it, and (after having a drink or two herself) found herself asking the dragon slayer, "Have you ever even tried alcohol?"

Perched on the bar stool next to her, the pink haired man blinked. Turning his attention from the fight brewing on the other side of the room he regarded her with a curious tilt of his head. "No ... Why? Should I?"

The innocence in his expression made her smile. She shook her head softly. "No - well, that is, only if you want to. I wasn't trying to pressure you or anything. I was just curious."

He shrugged, and in her state of mild intoxication Lucy couldn't help but let her eyes linger on those well defined shoulders. "I just never really understood what was so great about it. It makes everyone act weird." He admitted, before eyeing her beer with distaste. "It doesn't even smell good."

The blonde couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her lips. Natsu would have such a simple explanation for his avoidance. "Does it make me act weird too?" She asked, only partially joking.

The incredulous look he gave her made her smile falter. "You asked me to pet you and meowed like a cat."

She flushed, recalling the foggy memory with an embarrassed groan. "Yeah, not my finest moment," she mumbled, hiding her burning face behind her hand. After a few moments of awkward silence passed between them, she dared to peek at him between her fingers. He was staring at her, a confused frown creasing his brow.

"So why do you still drink? If you're so embarrassed about it."

Ah, Natsu. For someone who was so simple minded he sure asked a lot of loaded questions that required complicated answers. "Well," she started, her brain sluggishly mulling over how to best form her feelings into words. "It's different for everybody, but for me ... I guess I like that it relaxes me. I think I tend to be a bit braver when I'm tipsy. I try things that I would normally be too embarrassed to do sober." She sent him a smile, appreciating his uncharacteristic patience while she tried to explain. "Sometimes I do end up really embarrassing myself, but it's all in fun."

Her explanation only seemed to deepen his frown. "But you're plenty brave."

She blushed prettily at his offhanded compliment, feeling a warmth in her chest that wasn't strictly due to the alcohol she had consumed. "Not always." When his displeased expression didn't change, she continued. "Remember that night Mira convinced me to do karaoke?"

He nodded, a pained grimace painting his face at the memory. "Yeah, you were awful." She punched him in the arm and he pouted. "You were!"

"That's not the point!" She chastised, sending him a glare. "The point is I wouldn't have done it if I was sober. And even though I was terrible, I'm still glad I tried it."

He stared at her, that same open, evaluating stare that had the tendency to make her fidget. Igneel had obviously never taught him that staring at people tended to make them uncomfortable. Though even if he did, Lucy suspected that it wouldn't have mattered. Natsu had always been more or less oblivious when it came to following society's rules.

"Ok," he said, a full smile pulling at his lips and dazzling her with its warmth.

She blinked, wary of the amused glint in his dark eyes. "Uh, ok?" Seriously, why did she feel like she was missing out on some hidden joke?

He leaned one elbow against the bar top, his grin widening to impossible proportions. "So what should I order?"

What? "Huh?"

He poked her in the forehead teasingly, causing her head to bob back. "What drink should I order," he laughed.

Oh. "Really? Are you sure?"

He shrugged, smile still in place. "Not like it will kill me if I don't like it right? Besides, it can't be too bad if you like it."

Cheeks flushing, she tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear shyly. He was always doing that to her, giving her these round about compliments that she knew she shouldn't take too seriously. Still, her heart (treacherous thing) couldn't help but warm at the sentiments.

She looked up at him through the corners of her lashes, evaluating his jubilant expression. Mirajane would probably have been the better person to ask - she did mix the drinks after all. But instead he had asked her. Even if it was just a drink, Lucy couldn't help but feel touched that he trusted her opinion in the matter. "You like cinnamon right?" She already knew he did - he all but inhaled those cinnamon flavored candies she had bought for him a few years ago. He nodded, confirming that the alcohol hadn't completely addled her brain.

She grinned, turning away from her best friend to wave the pale haired bartender down. "Hey Mira! Can we get two shots of Fireball?"

Mira, pausing in drying a glass, looked at her curiously. No doubt the older woman was wondering why the blonde was ordering shots of whiskey when she had only asked for beer before. However, as her bright blue eyes slid over to Natsu, she lit up in a knowing smile. "Coming right up!"

"Fireball?" Natsu asked, an almost excited smile spreading across his face. "I like the sound of that!"

Lucy laughed, grabbing the two shot shot glasses carefully from Mira so as to avoid spilling the sticky liquid. "Yeah, I knew you would!" She slid his over so it rested in front of him in invitation. "Here. I haven't tried it before, but I've heard a lot of good things about it! We'll try it together!" She held up her glass, waiting for him to mimic the motion before lightly clinking them together. "To your first drink! Cheers!"

He smirked, echoing her, "Cheers!"

They both tipped their glasses back simultaneously and, as the warm liquid burned a trail down her throat, Lucy watched her partner's expression. He had an almost mystified expression on his face as he brought the glass away from his lips. He looked over to her, eyes wide with surprise.

"It feels warm!" he exclaimed, and Lucy couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. He was the picture of innocent awe.

"Yup!" she chirped, already feeling the whiskey beginning to settle and warm her chest. "Did you like it?"

A devious smirk - the one that usually spelled trouble for her - was her only answer before he was calling Mira back over. "Hey Mira! Two more of that Fireball stuff!"

If Lucy was sober, which she most definitely was not, she would have probably realized that she had just successfully created a monster. But with the heady buzz of alcohol warming her body, she could only laugh as the second round of the sweet cinnamon whiskey was delivered as quickly as the first.

Natsu wasted no time holding up his glass, "What should we cheer to this round Luce?"

She shook her head, the force of her smile making her cheeks ache. "Nope, it's your turn to pick! You choose!"

He frowned in thought before smiling brightly. "To Fairy Tail!"

Smiling widely, because if there was one thing worth cheering to it was definitely their beloved guild, she clinked their glasses. "To Fairy Tail!" A series of whoops and cheers surrounded them and Lucy knew instinctively that if she turned around the rest of the guild would be throwing back their own glasses. Natsu held her gaze as they both let the liquid burn down their throats.

By the third round she noticed that it was becoming distinctly warmer and had to abandon her light sweater in favor for just her tank top. She drank to family and friendships. Natsu teased that her toast was practically the same as his but she countered by reminding him that they did have friendships outside of the guild. He conceded with a smile.

On the fourth he cheered to Fireball for "not being gross" and she laughed because she wasn't sure she had ever heard anyone drink to alcohol before.

Before the fifth she called for mercy because dear Mavis there was no way she could keep up with the boy in front of her. Certainly not when she had already had a head start that night. "Just give me a minute," she breathed, laughter in her voice as she smiled up at her companion.

His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were glazed as they traced her face. There was a little smile twitching at the corner of his lips as he slid her shot over so it rested next to his. "I can take this one for the both of us," he smirked. And, before she could protest, he raised up the first glass and the heaviness of his gaze made her still. "To you Luce."

Then, with out even a moments hesitation, he tipped the glass back and Lucy found herself enraptured by his exposed throat as he swallowed. Mouth suddenly dry, she stopped his hand before he could pick up the glass that was supposed to have been hers. He looked at her questioningly but didn't pull his hand away from her as he watched her pick up the glass with her free hand. She held it between them, her voice quiet. "To you Natsu."

The way he smiled at her made her forget the burn of the whiskey and she didn't have time to chastise herself for overdoing it (because she had clearly over done it) before the pink haired man laid a steadying hand at her elbow. "Come on Luce, I think it's time to get you home." She nodded, waving goodbye to all of their friends as she let him lead her out - only stumbling a few times by the time they reached the large guild hall doors.

That last shot definitely hadn't done her any favors on the way home. The trek to her little apartment passed in a dizzying blur of leaning bodies and drunk laughter. His arm was draped across her shoulders, warm and solid and oh so steady as he helped her up the stairs and to her door. Her head fell limply against him and she basked in the sweet smell of smoked cedar that seemed to follow him everywhere.

"Luce?" His voice brought her out of her daze and she realized they had been standing in front of her door, and he was waiting for her to pull out her keys and open it.

"Oh," she muttered, "Keys. Right. I have those." Her fingers fumbled with the tangle of keys at her belt, the sound of them jingling calming her sudden drunken nerves. She stepped (stumbled) away from his warmth to clumsily insert the key into the lock, Natsu snickering at her back.

"You're drunk as a possum!"

She finally got the key to turn, a heavy thunk signaling the unlocking of the deadbolt. "Skunk, Natsu," she said, fighting a smile. "It's 'drunk as a skunk'. Not possum." She turned the knob, thankful to have the door to steady herself on. "And I'm not that drunk! Just really tipsy!" She defended with a pout.

Turning to look up at him, she was about to chastise him for teasing her when she saw his expression and whatever words she had clumsily prepared withered away on her tongue.

In the dim hallway his eyes were dark, but entirely too focused - too intense - for the cause to be purely intoxication. He was watching her, evaluating her, as if she were some kind of puzzle that he wasn't quite sure how to solve. The heaviness of his gaze left her dizzy and her heart fluttered nervously in her chest. He was so close to her, he had been the entire walk home, but now she couldn't help but take notice of how she could still feel the heat off his body despite being inches away from him. "Natsu," she breathed, his name leaving her lips like a whisper. She licked her dry lips, and felt her face flush when his eyes seemed to follow the movement. "You're staring," she said, stating the obvious because with the way he was looking at her the obvious was the only thing her buzzed brain could comprehend.

He swallowed, and (again) she found herself completely enraptured by his throat. "Hey Luce?" he said, his eyes still lingering on her mouth. "I think I get it now."

She tilted her head questioningly, not following his train of thought at all. "Get wha-"

The soft press of his lips against hers effectively silenced any coherent thought that the fire whiskey had left behind.

It was a chaste kiss, no more than a simple pressing of flesh, but his lips were as warm as the rest of him and Lucy found herself melting into him until those few meager inches between them disappeared. He seemed of the same mind because his hands were on her hips and pulling her in as close as physically possible. In the farthest corner of her mind she registered the jangle of keys as they dropped from her hand to the floor at their feet (she would have to deal with Aquarius' wrath later) and her fingers found themselves clutching the front of his shirt.

It could have lasted for minutes, maybe even hours, but with the whiskey still burning in her system it felt entirely too short. Slowly, he pulled away from her, looking as dazed as she felt. She could feel his breath on her mouth and, despite its warmth, she found herself shivering at the sensation. "I get it now," he said, his voice deep and breathless and entirely too full of temptation, "Why they call it liquid courage. I get it."

She stared up at him, a smile curling her lips as her hands released their grip on his shirt and reached up to weave her fingers into his hair. Liquid courage, huh? Well, she knew something about that. On her toes, she crashed her lips against his - thrilled when he responded with equal frenzy. With their mouths dancing across the other's, they stumbled into her apartment and barely managed to close the door behind them as their hands, their lips, started roaming.

It was as his calloused hand ran up the length of her thigh and gripped her ass that Lucy, in that strange disconnected way profound thoughts usually form, realized that perhaps Natsu's earlier toast to Fireball hadn't been so silly after all.

After tonight, she suspected she would be toasting to the fiery drink with a lot more enthusiasm.

AN: I've been wanting to write this for the past few weeks, and I almost used it in my chapter story but it just wouldn't fit with the way I want it to go. So I just decided to go ahead and use it as a one shot instead!

Interesting note – I actually don't care too much for Fireball (not a big fan of the candies, hence, not a big fan of the whiskey) but my husband LOVES it. As far as whiskey goes though, I'm a Honey Jack girl myself. ;)

Also, this fic is dedicated to my little sister who turned 21 yesterday and is no doubt feeling hung over this morning. Feel free to send her happy birthday/get well soon wishes to her account:Woodrokiro

Please leave me a line or two about what you thought!