Chapter 13: Do you want to dance?

After her shopping trip. Lucy prepared dinner for Celi and Wendy and made sure to have everything prepared for the teen's night with her daughter. After a quick shower she slipped into a satin robe and sat in her vanity. She opted for a full glam look with lashes and a red lip. Her medium length tresses cascaded down in waves. Finally, she ogled at the dress and with a huff she began to remove it off its hanger but the doorbell rang, making her stop midway. Crap, they're here already! I completely lost track of time! Lucy mentally pulled her hair out. Slipping back into her robe, she ran quickly to the front door.

Celi was watching TV in the living room and stood up, "Wendy and Natschu are here!"

She opened the door quickly, "Hi! I'm so sorry! I lost track of time and I-..." she stopped her sentence midway completely captivated by the pinkette in his black tuxedo, he had on a red bow instead of a tie. She couldn't see her reflection but she was sure they could tell she was more than blown away by his charmingly good looks, "anyway, please come in! I just need to change into my dress!" she smiled and adjusted her robe, clasping both sides to cover up her chest more.

"Hey Lucy and Celi!" Wendy chirped and ran to hug the girl.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Luce. I'll wait for ya." Natsu gave her a small smile, looking away quickly, flustered by her lack of clothing.

"Thank you! Please come in."she guided the siblings inside. Wendy started playing with Celi and Natsu was quick to make himself at home as he laid down on the couch and plopped his feet on the coffee table.

"Hey Wendy!" Lucy called out from her bedroom, "could you please help me with my dress?"

The teen stood up and walked towards Lucy's bedroom door, "can I come in?" she knocked.

"Yes, of course!"

Wendy walked inside and closed the door behind her, "Whoa, Lucy! That dress looks amazing on you!" she squealed.

"You think? Ugh, I wasn't so sure but everyone insisted on it. Could you help me with the straps on the back?" She was holding the straps with both her hands.

Wendy quickly tightened the back lace up design on her dress and tightened it with a bow, "there you go!" the back is so pretty too!"

She stayed there while Lucy adjusted her black strappy heels, grabbing a small black crossbody bag and shawl. She sighed softly as she stared at her reflection before retreating toward the door.

"You're going to drive men mad tonight, Lucy!" Wendy chuckled as she opened the door for the blonde.

"No, I'm not!" she blushed slightly.

"Hey, Natsu. What do you think of Lucy's dress?" they both stood at the end of the hallway.

"Wow! My mommy looks so pretty!" Lucy's daughter shouted.

The pinkette wasn't prepared for tonight. Honestly, he didn't really want to go. Mainly because he didn't know the people there. He was looking forward to seeing his friends Lisanna and Gajeel, though and Lucy was pretty fun and he'd grown fond of her rather quickly, platonically, of course. And yet, maybe there were other motives. He couldn't help but lose his composure at the sight of the blonde bombshell before him. She was smiling and hugging her daughter.

The way her golden hair literally gleamed in any lighting and her chocolate pools that seemed to drown him with every stare, shined brighter underneath her dark eyeliner, not that he paid any attention to women's makeup but he was looking now. Especially the way her plump lips looked in red lipstick. His mouth seemed to open the more his gaze lowered. Her dress had to be illegal. She had on a red dress with thin straps that attached to her surplice neckline, her perfect boobs squeezed tightly in the cleavage and the way her dress hugged every curve of her body, the tulip hem of the dress split open on the side revealing a large portion of her pale leg. As Lucy bent down to give her daughter a full on hug, he noticed the criss cross back design of her dress. Again, the dress had to be illegal. He was sure she was aware of his staring so instead he opted for the honest option.

"Wow, Luce. Yeah, you look great." he cleared his throat, "well I'm glad I wore a red bowtie. We kind of match!" he grinned. Trying to hide the slight blush that dusted his cheeks.

"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy said shyly. She was painfully aware that he had been staring at her. Suddenly feeling more subconscious than before, "and you're right! We do match." she directed her attention back to her daughter, "I'm leaving now, pumpkin, try not to give Wendy a hard time, okay?"

The little girl had gone back to playing on the living room floor with Wendy beside her, "okay, Mama." she stood up to give her one last hug.

"Don't worry about her, Lucy! You two just go and enjoy yourselves." the teen reassured her.

"Eh, I'll try. Thank you, Wendy." she smiled halfheartedly.

"I'll keep an eye on her, Wen." Natsu winked, "c'mon Luce, I'll be your honorary fun-friend tonight to make sure ya enjoy yourself! Now, let's go!" he grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the house. Lucy tensed at his touch but accepted it warmly. His smile was infectious.

…

The drive there was surprisingly fun. The pinkette and the blonde spent the entire time talking about the radio station Natsu was listening too and it turned into an all out conversation of their favorite genre of music and artists. It turned out they both liked similar music. They fought briefly on where the hotel was located and when Lucy was right, the pinkette was quick to admit defeat.

"I didn't know it was way out here." he scratched his head as they arrived at their destination.

"Yes, this is one of the most prominent hotels of Magnolia! I know it doesn't compare to what you have in Crocus." Lucy added as Natsu found a parking spot.

"Here, we are! Now, let's go have fun!"

The blonde exhaled, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Natsu, but-"

"No, buts. I said I was gonna be your honorary fun-friend today! I intend to do just that." He shut off his car and walked over to the passenger's door, opening the door with a wide grin.

"Right!" Lucy smiled as she held on to Natsu's outstretched arm, "thank you."

The Lamia Scale Hotel was a prestigious place for the rich and famous. It stood on a huge lot of over 50 acres of surrounding woods and an immense garden with exotic flowers and plants, with over 19 floors and a beautiful rooftop bar and restaurant, this magnificent hotel put even The Plaza Hotel to shame.

"Whoa, this place is huge. I've never been here before." Natsu said, looking around the foyer of the grand place.

"I've never been either." she looked around and found the large "welcome" sign that directed them to the elevators to go to the rooftop, "I'm guessing the party is on the roof."

Everyone was dressed in their most beautiful dresses and crisp tuxedos. In a large round table sat Levy and her husband, Gajeel. Next to them was Juvia and her husband, Gray. Followed by Lisanna and her boyfriend, Bickslow. The couples were talking amongst themselves, enjoying champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

"Hello ladies, I see you're all enjoying yourselves. Glad you could all make it-" Erza walked over to their table and inspected the guests sitting in front of her, "but where is Lucy? Is she not coming?" she asked.

"She's on her way, with a man!" Levy answered excitedly.

"Is that so? Well consider my interest piqued." The redhead smirked. Perhaps, it was because Lucy never spoke about dating and was never interested in the subject when it was brought to her attention.

"Oh, here they come now!" Lisanna smiled and waved over the duo who walked towards them with tense faces, "Hey Natsu! Hey Lucy!" the white-haired girl yelled.

"Oi, Lis!" Natsu grinned and waved, "Bix, long time no see!" he walked over to the blue-haired man and high-fived him.

"Hey guys." Lucy smiled walking over to the table, "this is Natsu, my friend, for those who haven't met him yet."

"Yo!" Gajeel greeted the couple.

"Hey!" Natsu went to high five the pierced man.

"Lucy, glad you could make it." Erza smiled at the two, "Hello Natsu, I'm Erza Scarlet, Lucy's boss." the redhead extended her arm for the pinkette to shake.

Natsu, reluctantly took it and shook it, remembering what Lucy and Levy had said about the redhead's temper. Their hands parted and her eyes wandered to the people at the table and Erza's eyes went wide, "Gray! Where are your clothes?!"

Lucy and Natsu's eyes drifted to the raven-haired man with the stripping habit.

"Oi! I just had it on!" He groaned and looked around the floor. Seeing the fallen garments that littered the floor. He was down to just his black slacks. He quickly grabbed his button up and put it back on.

"It's that jerk!" Natsu yelled and pointed at Gray. "You're that asshole from the supermarket with the fat-" Before he could finish his sentence, the man had his hand on his mouth. He mumbled underneath it.

Everyone else was startled that the two knew each other at all.

"W-what's going on?" Lucy looked at the two next to her.

"Be quiet, p-please." Gray spoke, his normally calm composure was completely faltered, his hand still covering the pinkette's mouth.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia stood up.

"It's okay, Ju-" Gray was interrupted by a sharp pain in his hand, "AUGH, hey, you bit me!"

"You started it!" Natsu wiped his mouth, "with your grubby hands on my face, you freaking pervert!"

"Who you callin' a pervert, hot head!"

"You both need to calm down or I'll have security handle you." The redhead intervened. Gray was quick to drop the subject upon hearing her but Natsu's stance was still on the offensive, until he saw the glint in Erza's amber eyes that stopped him in his tracks.

"Anyway, continue to enjoy your night!" she smiled, completely forgetting the whole ordeal as she left.

"What the hell is your problem, salamander? Getting Erza all riled up like that?" Gajeel asked the pinkette. He and Lucy were sitting down at the table.

"Salamander?" Lucy asked with a smirk.

"Oh, that's my pen name on GameStation." Natsu chuckled, "I guess you were right about Erza being scary."

"You're Salamander?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" the pinkette responded.

"He's Icedevil. The one who joins the party but never talks 'cause his headset broke, gihihi." the pierced man laughed.

The men continued their video game bickering while Lucy started conversation with Levy and Lisanna.

"You guys look beautiful!" The blonde smiled at the two, "this hotel is really nice."

"You look amazing too, Lu! I told you this dress was the one!" Levy smiled brightly.

"Where is Cana?" Lucy asked.

"Take a wild guess." Lisanna smirked.

"She's at the bar getting drunk with her equally alcoholic boyfriend!" Levy laughed.

The girls and guys continued their chatting while they ate, the venue had provided a three course meal. They each had a menu and had to pick from the two options. Natsu wasn't too happy with the small portions but he enjoyed the food nonetheless. During the desert, Sherry came by to greet them. Thanking them for passing by and for all the help on her book.

"Please continue enjoying dessert! I hope you stay for the rest of the party!" Sherry smiled and took her leave.

The Fairy Tail publishing staff congratulated her again on her books success.

Soon, the party moved to the dancefloor as everyone started making their way towards the loudspeakers. The rooftop restaurant was next to a wide open space, the island bar separated the two.

"So you're not going to dance?" Levy interrupted Lucy who was talking to Natsu, explaining what the book was about.

"I don't think so, Lev. You guys go and have fun." the blonde responded.

"Do you want to dance?" Natsu asked, trying to hide the shyness behind the question.

"Uh?" She looked at him surprised, his smile was bashful and she could tell he was already embarrassed for asking.

"I did say I was your honorary fun friend!" he smiled away his light blush.

"Sure, Natsu." Lucy grinned shyly.

A/N: Hi guys! I've been away ._. to be honest, I'm not too active in the FT fandom anymore. So, with a heavy heart I say that I've abdandoned my other works on here and this fic is the only one that I will continue working on because it holds a special place in my heart, even with all the flaws. NaLu is still my OTP forever ❤︎ I'm halfway through working on Chapter 14 and I do work on it from time to time but updates will be sporadic. Thank you for the lovely comments! I read every single one! And it's you guys that keep me coming back despite not being in the fandom as much! So please don't stop! They're my life blood that will keep me focused on seeing this through the end! xoxo -Rin