A/N: This is Mslead talking. You guys haven't seen anything from me yet, but this is a side collab I did with Snogfairy for Nalu day. We were a couple of days late because I had part one and I couldn't get it done in time. This is based off some rather interesting events that happened to us... See if you can guess what's real and what's fictional!

Weddings were disasters from start to finish. The planning and preparation of that single event were liable to turn even the most rational of human beings into a raging bridezilla within the span of a breath. It was the only event where it was socially acceptable to completely lose all sense of decorum. In fact, in all of Lucy's time alive, so far she had been a part of two weddings.

Both ended in a spectacular display of fire.

Lucy stared at her reflection in the mirror, her body sagging over the vanity at the reception hall. She was absolutely exhausted, heavy bags under her eyes. To say she looked like hell warmed over would be a kindness. She had been sprinting to the finish line of this wedding since the beginning of the week.

Being the Maid of Honor was both an incredible opportunity to support her friend and an excuse to want to throttle her all at the same time. Lucy's patience had been strained to its limits in the last month as Levy would call her in the middle of the night, her voice hysterical as she asked Lucy whether Baby's Breath would really match with light pink ribbons or not.

Levy was a reasonable woman 365 days out of the year.

Except on her wedding.

Apparently at which point, she lost her mind.

It was so bad, Lucy found Gajeel hiding from his fiance underneath the gazebo.

Finally it was the morning of the wedding, and Lucy had been up since three in the morning with their burly wedding planner, Lily. He was a tall, broad man with a shaved head and scar over his eye. If Lucy didn't know any better, she would have thought he was utterly terrifying. Lily was burly, looking like he was better suited to throwing drunks out at a club instead of delicately arranging floral centerpieces. Still, he did great work and Lucy was glad he was there.

In all honesty, Lucy was nervous. Gajeel and Levy were the only two she knew in this entire wedding party. There was nothing in the way of rehearsal for the actual even, both bride and groom preferring to wing it. So Lucy wasn't sure what kind of individuals were going to show up.

Dabbing foundation under her eyes to hide the heavy bags, Lucy did herself up as well as she could before she ran to the bridal chambers to help the other bridesmaids stuff Levy into her gown. Lucy didn't know any of the other girls Levy had picked, but they seemed nice enough.

There were three other girls gathered for the task to transform Levy into a Queen for the day. Juvia, who was weaving sea water pearls into Levy's blue hair; Cana, who was doing a good job of keeping Levy with a steady supply of calming wine; and Erza, who had taken it upon herself to dive under Levy's layers of satin and tulle to slide the garter around her leg.

They were all interesting characters, and Lucy felt a little out of sorts that she didn't know any of them. All of them seemed to know one another from one crazy event or the other. Lucy thought she caught whispers of the great 'Easter Egg incident' of 2008 in which none of them were legally allowed within a five mile radius of the plastic eggs.

Especially Erza,

Which left Lucy the task of applying makeup to Levy's face. Nerves shone on her face, accompanied by an excited flush that stained her cheeks a pretty shade of rose.

"You ready?" Lucy asked her friend, a surprising amount of emotional pride rising in her chest.

Levy's eyes shone with excitement, tears stinging at her eyes as she tried hard not to cry. In just a matter of moments, she was going to be married. No amount of mascara and eyeliner could survive the torrent of tears that would occur once Levy got started.

"I'm so ready Lu!" She tipped her head back and fanned at her face, trying to dry the tears before they spilled and ruined her perfect make up.

She breathed out a huff and straightened her shoulders. At once her bridesmaids came to her sides and shepherded her out. A veil was dropped over Levy's hair, and Lucy took up the rear, collecting her train to prevent it from getting dirty.

It was time for a wedding.

After the vows were spoken and rings were exchanged, they filed back into the hall where they had gotten ready. There, the candles on the tables were lit and flower petals laid across the floor. Each one no doubt was carefully arranged with delicate care by Lily.

Lucy was grateful the ceremony was over. There hadn't been a dry eye at the altar, even Gajeel who was normally stone faced, started to sniffle.

There had been a few touch and go moments with the flower girl throwing a whole sunflower at the ringbearer, and the odd arguments from family members in the wedding. But, the largest had been Gajeel's missing Best Man.

Five minutes to the ceremony, the pink haired man who had been assigned to escort Lucy down the aisle arrived. He was waving a white candle around over his head and looked out of breath as he ran up. It was the same candle Lucy was guarding, hers immaculate in its care and perfection, while his was…

Well…

It was in one piece, at least there was that.

But at least it looked like he had gone through hell and high water to get the candle. His collar was unbuttoned and the bowtie he had looped around his neck hung crooked. A tweed Caddy hat was crammed over his wild hair, the same as all the groomsmen wore, suspenders stretched from his waist over broad shoulders.

"I got the unity thing!" He had shouted boisterously, "It's only a little melted because I left it in the car!"

He was immediately attacked by the rest of the anxious wedding party who had been waiting for him to show up. His limbs were flailing as Erza got him in a headlock so her partner, Jellal, could tighten his bowtie.

The man was undoubtedly attractive, and if it weren't for his dopey whining, Lucy would have been enraptured by his dark eyes. They were slanted and sharp, accompanying perfectly with the mischievous grin that seemed right at home on his face. Once he was released and his whining subsided, his eyes met hers.

As far as introductions went, they didn't have much time to speak to one another before they were taking their places at the pavilion.

"You must be Levy's best friend, Lucy," He whispered as the first strings of orchestral music began to ring out, warbling through the open air, "I'm Natsu, Gajeel's cousin."

Lucy didn't have much time but to nod at him, as he gave her the most charming smile she had ever seen in her life and extended his elbow out to her. A blushed worked over her cheeks and she hesitantly set her hand in the crook of his arm.

She could feel the bulge of a strong bicep pressing into her hand. It made her mind stop functioning for a second as a few unbidden thoughts distracted her from her sacred task of walking down a set of stairs in heels. Luckily his arm provided steady support as he guided her down, a happy grin sent her way. It was one she couldn't help but mirror.

And now, in the full swing of the party with the newly wedded couple, Lucy couldn't help but keep laughing.

Not once did her smile disappear, even as she blinked, misty eyed through the ceremony until they made it back to the reception hall.

It was by far the most fun she had ever had at a wedding. There was wild dancing with strangers and Lucy spun from person to person until she ended up with Levy, their arms tangling together in a hug. This was something out of a storybook, and Lucy thought this wedding was absolutely perfect they way it was.

Even though she didn't know anyone, Lucy found they were all very welcoming. Never did she feel like she was on the outside looking in. It was something Lucy had been afraid about, but she laughed with her fellow bridesmaids, congratulated Levy, and helped her conspire to smash cake in Gajeel's face when the time came.

As it turned out, Levy had missed completely because she was too short, and opted instead to smash the whole plate into his stunned chin instead.

That had inspired the wild game of chase that Lucy was currently involved in. She hiked her dress up as she ran, ignoring the ache from her protesting feet. Heels were not shoes any human was meant to run in.

Somehow unscathed from the cake war, she hid in a darkened corner to try and prolong her fate.

That was until a wicked figure emerged from behind the gifts, an evil grin stretching his lips over sharp fangs.

"Hey it's Lucy," Natsu purred, holding up two slices of cake in each hand. Lucy squeaked in terror at the sight of the demon standing in front of her in a tweed hat smeared with frosting and suspenders, "Imagine running into you here!"

His smile was wide and inviting, despite his baked weapons held high in his hands. This adorable man was about to cover her in cake.

This was one of Lucy's favorite dresses.

She was not going down without a fight.

"You'll never take me alive Natsu!" Lucy grinned at him, her eyes flashing with warning. He had the grace to look a little confused before she ripped off her heels tucked them under one arm and made a break for it.

"Wha- hey! No fair!" He laughed and chased after her.

She managed to steal herself a slice of cake just as Natsu caught up to her and swiped a frosting covered finger across her cheek. Lucy gasped, a little surprised by how minor of an attack it had been and repeated the action to him.

Natsu clutched a hand to his chest and gasped as if mortally wounded.

And then a slice of cake narrowly avoided striking Natsu squarely in the side of the head. It smashed against the wall and slid down, leaving a white trail of icing behind it, almost like some sort of gruesome offering to the wedding gods.

Natsu spluttered his indignation and whipped around, his plate raising with the promise of frosty vengeance when Lucy dragged him backwards by a suspender to avoid a new hail of cake being thrown their way. She thought she saw Lily frantically trying to reign in the chaos around him, but dismissed it as soon as she realized Natsu was about to go charging back into the fray.

This time she didn't waste time hauling him out of the way of cake-hell, dragging him out of the reception hall entirely and out into the back patio.

Like the interior, it was decorated with flower petals, a nice place to get away from the chest pounding music inside the party. This place was quiet and dark.

Lucy would even go so far as to say it was intimate.

Oh gods. Why had she dragged him out here again?

It was a dark little spot, illuminated only by the fairy lights that strung overhead. A cloud of soft light floated around them, and Lucy felt like crawling into a corner to die of embarrassment. Would he think she dragged her out of the hall for a romantic liaison between them? Or worse…

Her imagination ran away from her, thinking of one disastrous response from him to the next.

Sure, Natsu was attractive, but aside from chasing one another like four year olds, Lucy hadn't had an actual conversation with him…!

The Maid of Honor and the Best Man.

How cliche could she get?

Thankfully her stuttering thoughts were ground to a halt when a plate of cake was brought up under her nose. Buttercream frosting and a tiny pink rose decorated the slice, both tempting and innocent looking.

Natsu gave her a wide grin and withdrew a single fork from where he had speared his second slice. He cocked his head and took a large bite out of his cake, "This is a great place to finally get those annoying jerks out of the way." He huffed and walked down the steps, heading into the lit up gazebo.

"I never thought I was going to get to eat this cake," Natsu complained as he flopped down on a stone step. He was seemingly clueless to the romantic atmosphere around them, but oddly enough it relaxed Lucy.

Slowly, she made her way next to him and he passed the fork over to her.

"Hope you don't mind germs," Natsu's grin seemed ever growing, and once again Lucy felt her smile spread in response.

"I don't," She smiled, taking a smaller, much more subdued piece than Natsu's hearty chunk. She took a tiny bite and decided to remind him of his battle cries with fistfuls of delicious baked goods, "Lets not forget, you were participating in that cake war with a vengeance."

"Was I?" Natsu asked innocently, seemingly having forgotten his involvement with it already. He gladly accepted the fork Lucy passed back to him, spearing another poor chunk of cake, smeared with what had once been delicate edible pearls and roses. He crunched them loudly, unaware of the noise he was making with his dining habits.

It was a little gross, but Lucy found she didn't really mind. Natsu ate like a child, all enthusiasm, with flecks of frosting coating the corners of his mouth and lips. His tongue darted out to clean it as he went, making it both somehow adorable and attractive. Upon until he started cramming cake in his piehole again.

This man was a strange one.

But Lucy liked him.

Together they sat out there, just talking to one another, long after their cake was gone. She discovered Natsu had a bit of a hard time holding down a job. He had been everything from a used car salesman, a lifeguard for a yacht, a waiter, and a postal worker. Right now he was a Garbage man, but it looked as if he was going to be quitting that job soon too.

Lucy thought it was very strange he had such problems at work, until Natsu admitted he had a crippling sense of motion sickness that made most of the jobs listed nearly impossible for him to complete. Currently he was stuck puking his guts into people's trash cans between houses.

Lucy tried hard not to think about the odd time she thought her garbage can smelled strongly of vomit.

When she asked about the waitering job, Natsu sheepishly admitted he couldn't help but swipe bites of food off other people's plates.

Which explained why Lucy's cake had disappeared so fast.

She discovered a little more about him. Such as, he was roommates with Gray, but often got sexiled because Juvia would stay the night. Natsu was blessed with the unfortunate ability of uncanny hearing, which did nothing to benefit him when his roommate was spending quality time with his girlfriend.

Adopted at a young age by a kind man named Igneel, Natsu had grown up with his cousins: Gajeel and Wendy. The latter of which had to gently guide Asuka, the flower girl, down the aisle. And get her to stop throwing whole sunflowers at Romeo.

They laughed together about odd jokes and weird stories. Lucy even got the down and dirty on the Easter Egg Incident.

It was terrifying.

So time slowly ticked away between them while Natsu regaled Lucy with stories about all the friends they shared. He talked for a while, until he seemed to realize he was dominating the conversation. Lucy didn't mind, she found his life so much more interesting than hers and found herself wishing for a slice of the fairy tales he spun. That's why when he turned towards her, Lucy was surprised.

"What about you?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Hesitant at first, and not knowing how much to reveal about herself, Lucy relaxed under the force of that frustratingly charming smile. How often did Natsu get his way because of that innocent grin of his? Lucy was willing to bet more times than should have been legal.

So she told him all he wanted to hear. She talked about how she came from wealthy parents who were no longer with her, and she attended private schools all throughout her life, until she went to University. It was there she met Levy.

Lucy also shared what she did for a living. That she was an advice columnist at a newspaper. When her childhood dream of being a model had imploded, she took up writing instead and found she liked it better. Natsu's curious gaze fell on her, silently asking her for the story behind her quitting modeling, Lucy blushingly admitted she wasn't fond of the shoots like she originally thought.

Something about wearing a giant horse head on top of her shoulders just made her feel uncomfortable.

Of course Natsu burst out into a roar of laughter at the reveal, dark eyes twinkling in the silvery light.

"You? Wearing a horse head? Li-like some kinda mascot!" He giggled, doubled over himself, tears streaming down his cheeks as his arms wrapped around his sides. Lucy huffed out and waved her hands at his hysterical form.

"It's not funny!" She protested, but a tiny smile quirked at her lips. Sure, it was an amusing story now, but at the time it had been a horrible and embarrassing. Not to mention stinky. The last person to wear that weird horse head must have forgotten what a shower was, much less how to use one.

She sighed as she watched Natsu heave with laughter. Seeing as he wasn't going to stop any time soon, a daring smirk dragged over her face.

"The underwear modeling wasn't so bad though."

There was a moment where Natsu's laughs arrested in his chest before he suddenly started hacking in surprise. Lucy's words clearly had their intended effect.

Ah, so that was what a man choking on his own tongue sounded like.

"S-seriously?" Natsu spluttered, pounding on his chest clear out his airway. Lucy observed the rosy hint to his cheeks and the sharpness in his eyes. The way he said that was husky, and it made something in Lucy's chest flip.

"Yeah."

There was a beat of silence where Natsu's throat worked hard to swallow, his slanted eyes focused intensely on Lucy. A blush began to work over her cheeks under his gaping stare, disarming her. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"What're you staring at me like that for?" She demanded of the man. Her stomach flipped when all of a sudden a cunning smile began to broaden his face.

"Nothing, I'm just imagining it," Natsu admitted without the least bit of shame, shrugging at Lucy's scandalized gasp. He whistled a light tune and stared up at the fairy lights hanging overhead, as if he had not just admitted he had imagined her mostly naked.

Oh how quickly her plan backfired.

She should have figured that would be the case with a man like Natsu.

"Hey!" She smacked at his shoulder, but missed by a wide margin when he abruptly stood up. Lucy's swing twisted away and her body tilted to the side, off kilter. A rather embarrassing sound similar to a squeak or shriek escaped her and had it not been for Natsu's hand on her arm, she would be eating pavement.

"Wow Lucy! You're really clumsy," Natsu grinned, sweeping his sticky hat off the top of his head. Rosy spikes of hair sprang free, curling in the night air now they had been released from their prison.

"I thought models were supposed to be graceful," He teased, offering a hand up. Lucy accepted it with some gratitude and a sulky glare sent his way.

"I'm not clumsy!" She protested, but couldn't help but smile. Natsu's palm was rough and warm in her hand. It was wide, his grip sure and strong, practically swallowing up her smaller one in his. Rebellious flutters started in her heart and worked their way down into Lucy's stomach.

Natsu tugged her to him, as if sensing the shift in mood. The wickedness in his ever present smile multiplied tenfold. His head dropped down near Lucy's ear, his voice sliding to a vibrating timber she felt all the way in her toes.

"I guess you're going to have to prove me wrong."

Lucy's eyes went wide when Natsu pulled away, favoring her with such an innocent look she almost might have believed it was genuine. But the devious glint in his eyes could never fade, no matter how disarming his pretty smile was.

"Come on," She rolled her eyes to hide her flushing cheeks, "I think it's about time we head back in. We both have speeches to make."

For whatever reason, the mention of the speech caused all the color to drain from Natsu's face.

"Oh, right. That," he mumbled.

The way he shifted was as if he were a man about to face a firing squad.

Lucy looked at him in surprise, her hands settling on her hip. She wagged a finger at him, "Natsu Dragneel. Don't tell me you forgot to write your bestman's speech!"

He puffed his cheeks out and pouted like a child, "Did not!"

Wow, he was like an actual life four-year old in a man's body.

"But I wish I had."

Lucy watched him strangle his hat between nervous hands. Something was bugging him, otherwise Lucy wouldn't be feeling sympathy for a hat about to be ripped into shreds.

"Just, Gajeel and I made a bet and– " Natsu's cheeks flamed an anxious red. His nervousness was cute, and Lucy was a little surprised by this side of the energetic man, "Well you'll find out soon."

To say Lucy was curious was the understatement of a century. She had barely seen Natsu bat an eye over what most normal people would see as embarrassing. For him to be blushing to the roots of his hair? It had to be something good.

Still, she wasn't going to pry, not when he looked so anxious.

"Then lets go get a drink before we both embarrass ourselves," Lucy smiled at him, setting a hand against a broad shoulder. She gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"Yeah," His smile was back. Lucy was happy to see it in its rightful place on his expressive face, "Besides, there will be plenty of time for me to make an idiot out of myself later! Might as well not sweat this!"

He spun in a circle and did an odd, little ass jiggle, "Just wait until you see my dance moves!"

He said it with such a fake, suave air, Lucy couldn't help but burst out in wild laughter. Something he joined her in a moment later. Together they made it back inside to the bar and made it a game to pick out the drink the other would crack into. Lucy got something weird and tarty, while Natsu made a face over whatever Lucy had made him ingest.

"I feel like I lost this game," He complained.

Lucy just smirked in response, "Enjoy your poison."

"Cruel."

They clinked their bottles together and drank their first of many beers that night.

She was pleasantly buzzed by the time to give their speeches. She was handed a fresh glass of champagne, and thanks to a little liquid courage, along with an odd, celebratory shout from Natsu– gave her speech without missing a note.

Considering the room was starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges, that was pretty good. Not that it mattered, she really wanted to see what Natsu was plotting. By the almost gleeful expression on Gajeel's face, Lucy knew it was going to be great.

To Natsu's (or the alcohol's) credit, he swaggered onto the stage without looking even a touch nervous. It was as if he had committed to giving this one hundred and ten percent of his all.

Lucy imagined he was the type to set his mind like that to any challenge. The thought made her feel warm.

He was handed the microphone and a glass of champagne like Lucy had by an apologetic looking Lily. It seemed the wedding planner was in on whatever hijinks were about to ensue. The glass of champagne was pushed back into Lily's hands after Natsu knocked the entire thing back at once.

He took in a deep breath to begin his speech.

"When we were teenagers, my bastard of a cousin and I made a bet. I swore there was no one crazy enough to marry his ugly ass. So we made a bet, and the winner would have an ode sung to their greatness by the loser. Gajeel demanded it be done at his wedding."

"The jerk didn't tell me he had somehow managed to trick Levy into being his girlfriend," Natsu grumbled, "So I lost the damn bet."

Gajeel looked positively joyful, which was strange for his normally stoic face.

The music began to play and Natsu swallowed. He was resigning himself to his fate, and an expression of determination flashed over his entire face. If he was going to suffer, it was clear this was going to be quite the performance.

Lucy gasped right alongside the crowd as Natsu opened his mouth–-

…

And it was actually good.

The fact that Natsu could actually sing was surprising by its own. But the fact that he began to dance, with a swing of strong hips and a grin on his face was positively distracting.

Oh gods.

It was certainly a performance Lucy wasn't bound to forget at any given moment. Under the hot lights of the stage, he undid the buttons of his vest with a single hand, letting it flap open and free. Lucy knew she couldn't have imagined the way his eyes swept over to her as she did it. Or the way the rambunctious crowd all catcalled and whistled.

Lucy was certain everyone in the rowdy bunch were shocked over Natsu's hidden talent, but the man got into it naturally. Being the center of attention came easily to him, and he owned what would have been embarrassing for anyone else.

He danced with Asuka and Wendy, never missing a note as his voice carried over them. It was a little rough from the alcohol, but smooth in the right ways Lucy could feel deep in her chest.

Lucy squeaked as his eyes snapped towards her.

There was a lull in the song, and he took the opportunity to prowl through the crowd to her. The lyrics started up again, but Lucy watched as velvety words dropped from his tongue, inviting her closer like some sort of snake charmer.

A strong arm circled her waist, tugging Lucy into his steady embrace. Whether this boldness came from the booze or his natural charisma, she wasn't complaining. She found herself sinking into his chest, a hand dropping onto his firm shoulder.

He winked at her while they danced, his fingers from his free hand bunching up the material of her dress around her waist. Lucy's breath caught, and she could have sworn his eyes dropped down to her lips. The heat from his hand, pressing into her skin through the thin chiffon, seeped into her bones.

Lucy wet her mouth, and this time she was positive she didn't imagine the way his eyes followed the movement of her tongue. His dark gaze traced her lips. She bit her bottom lip, watching as the man stared shamelessly.

Feeling a little spritely herself, she scooted in closer to him and lightly squeezed her hand at the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

His voice hitched, wavering for the first time since he began his song. Growing in confidence, she gave him a mischievous smile, one that slowly began to reflect on his face.

Lucy felt his hand flatten down against her hip. Fingers crept downward, his eyes locked on her as if searching for a sign. He was testing the waters, seeing how far Lucy would allow his hand to travel. Natsu's gaze was attentive to see when he should stop his descent, but she gave him a lazy smirk in response. For the moment, she had forgotten they were on the dance floor with the entire wedding party.

Her heart hammered in her chest over the feeling of those hot, inquisitive hands drawing down further and further to cup over the swell of her rump. Breath hitching at the gentle, grazing touch, she met his eyes.

But right before he could reach his target, Lucy found herself swept up in another man's arms.

"It's not manly to hog a beautiful woman to yourself!" The tall man smirked at Natsu. By the expression on his face, he knew exactly what he was breaking up.

It was a little amusing to see Natsu's face go slack in shock as the man, Elfman, spun Lucy away and into the arms of Gray.

Extremely confused by the sudden change of events, she found herself being passed along to all the men in the wedding, ending on a charming man named Loke before finishing with Jellal.

"Apologies," Jellal murmured to her as they danced at something far more at a subdued pace, "This is their way of annoying Natsu, it isn't often a girl catches his attention."

Lucy could feel Natsu's eyes burning a path after her, and she realized their plan was rather devious. As soon as the song ended, he gave her a polite bow and released her to return to Erza near the remains of the cake table.

A bit out of breath, Lucy removed herself from the dance floor, glancing over her shoulder to see Natsu had climbed onto one of the tables and began to wildly shake his ass, pointing and laughing at his cousin.

Lucy rolled her eyes and went back to the bar to get another beer, when all of a sudden…

"FIRE!"

Her head whipped around, beer in hand as she pushed back the way she came. Sure enough, the table Natsu had previously been dancing on was set on fire.

And not just a small flame.

It was on FIRE-FIRE.

Natsu was teamed up with Gajeel, both trying to smother the flames. On the off chance his vest caught fire, Lucy had a beer at the ready to shake and douse him. But really, she had to wonder how the table had been set on fire in the first place. She could still feel the warmth from Natsu's grazing touches at her hip and waist. The sensation of his strong hand drifting down before they had been separated was fresh in Lucy's mind.

So the mystery of the table's fire was out of her depth, even though she was more than halfway certain is was Natsu's fault. After all he had been dancing on it.

She stared for a long moment, watching as Natsu and Gajeel furiously tried to put out the fire, until Juvia arrived.

In her hands was clutched a bright red extinguisher, and she gave loose a commanding order to 'Get out of Juvia's way!' before twisting the valve, and snapping up the hose.

Her long gown was slit long up to her hip, so her leg was free to brace itself against a table as she took aim and smothered the flames in foam. Natsu and Gajeel barely had the time to dive under the table and peek around the edges of the charred table cloth.

"No fire is ruining Levy's wedding!" She huffed triumphantly. The other bridesmaids just politely clapped, mostly disinterested. In fact Erza wasn't even paying the slightest attention to the fire, instead eating a slice of cake as if it were the pinnacle of fine dining.

Cana lifted a bottle of champagne in a boastful salute to Juvia, "You go get 'em girl!"

And just like that, the party swung back into full gear, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The party was a rush of laugher and excitement after that. Natsu caught the bouquet, having intercepted it from Erza. Who chased him around the entire reception hall with murder in her eyes. It was amusing for Lucy to see such a sight, especially once he relinquished it to her. However, he had snagged a couple of flowers from it to tuck a bud behind both Wendy and Asuka's ear.

At the end of the party, Natsu smiled at Lucy and held up a flower that looked broken and crumpled at the stem. He looked a little drunk, which could be said for everyone at this point. He gave her a wide smile and slid up to Lucy, his eyes lazy and affectionate.

Instead of tucking the flower behind her ear like she expected, he dropped it stem down into her open bottle of beer.

"You ready to keep the party going?" He stepped in closer to her, and Lucy's blood spiked a bit at the soft purr in his voice.

"...What do you mean?" She asked, a flush working it way along her cheeks. Natsu's arm slung heavy and hot around her shoulders. She found herself pressed into the side of his chest, resting there comfortably. He smelled spicy and a little bit like ash from the smoking table.

"Time for the party bus!" He turned towards her, seemingly unaware of personal space. His nose dragged against her cheek, an impish grin spreading over his face. Lucy's heart jumped and a shiver burned through her.

"You ready?" He asked huskily.

Lucy looked into his warm, affectionate eyes, her heart thumping trustingly in her chest.

"Yeah."

And now I pass it off to Snogfairy to finish off our two-shot!