[author's note]It's bboutrageous again and this time back with a Nalu fic. After a request from my best friend for a Nalu fic, I decided to give it a try and this is the results of that attempt. Usually I don't write outside pairings I'm comfortable writing for, but since this is for my best friend I gave it a shot. This is my third Fairy Tail fanfic and also my first Nalu one. They are my second favorite pairing tied alongside Levy and Gajeel. I honestly think I spent several hours during the weekend just trying to think of a proper plot, and hopefully this plot worked out well w I just hope everyone enjoys reading this. I am very grateful for everyone who clicks on this and gives it a shot. Hopefully, my first Nalu fic turned out decent enough to earn some reviews and maybe a few favorites. I'm still in the process of editing any mistakes I missed after rushing to publish this. I apologize for any OOCness or mistakes. I will try to fix it as soon as possible. Anyways ... enough of my blabbing and onto the reading.

[disclaimer]I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. They are the property of Hiro Mashima.

[full summary]After agreeing to a ridiculous competition with Gray, Natsu ends up drunk and barely conscious. With everyone else too busy partying and drinking, Lucy is the only one available to bring him home. Along the way, however, a drunken Natsu decides that he has some confessions to make.

Drunken Confessions

"A drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts."

Lucy sighed as she glanced back at the guild with a dissatisfied expression on her face. She could hear the music and the loud laughter and chatter emanating from the large building.

Fairy Tail was having one of those weekly parties again and it was no different from all the rest. It was alcohol free for all in there. It was practically a Fairy Tail tradition to drink themselves silly until they could barely figure out the difference between up and down. It didn't end there though. Once they were all drunk and livelier than they usually were they would duke it out in an all-out brawl with one another until only one person was left standing. Usually there never was a victor seeing as how they would all pass out before the fight was even over.

If you ignored the chaos surrounding the drunken fights, the parties were actually quite amazing.

Mirajane would cook up some of the best recipes Lucy had ever tasted. That was a shocker to the blonde since she had grown up in the lap of luxury with a chef that would cook up delicacies from across the world up until a few years ago when she ran away. Cooking delicious sweets wasn't the only thing the white haired barmaid could do. Who would have thought that someone who had been known as 'The Devil' Mirajane would have a beautiful set of vocals? The first time she saw her on stage after they came back from saving Erza from being turned into a sacrifice by Jellal left her utterly shocked and entranced by how talented the Fairy Tail cover girl was.

Cana Alberona, the guild's official drinker, was excellent at tarot card readings when she wasn't overly tipsy or head over heel drunk. Any time she had during their loud parties was often spent sitting across from the mage getting her fortune told. Everything Cana predicted would happen would often come true within a few days. However, when it came to her love life, the result was always the same. Lucy would always get the earful of "Your love is someone close to you. He is a little lost but he will eventually find his way," yet it never happened. For months now she had been waiting for this person Cana said would be her true love, but prince charming had yet to show his face.

Erza was a whole different story compared to all the others. The scarlet haired armored mage hardly touched the alcohol when it came to party days. Instead, she stuck to her sweets and cakes. It surprised her how much cake the girl could eat yet look as good as she did without having to worry about her weight in the slightest bit. Lucy had a theory that walking in all that heavy metal was probably one of the reasons why she never seemed to gain weight. Erza seemed to be the only one who wouldn't get drunk with the others so Lucy relied on her to keep herself busy while Natsu and Gray took part in one of their daily fist fights. It was comforting to know that at least one other person wasn't a heavy drinker and had their head on straight. This time around though Gray had managed to convince her into drinking several rounds of alcohol and now the mage was mixed into the midst of the fights.

Lucy sighed again for the second time in the past five minutes. She should be in there having fun and eating her fill of sweets before she regretted it in the morning. She could have been having a nice chat with Levy and the others, but instead she was stuck escorting a certain pink haired hot head home after the dragon slayer drank enough alcohol to knock out a giant.

"How did I end up in this situation?" She groaned before glancing at Natsu. The dragon slayer was barely conscious thus leaving Lucy to pull his arm over her shoulder in a pathetic attempt to support the boy.

Where was Happy when she needed him? Oh, that's right. The poor blue exceed had been knocked out cold when a very drunk Natsu fell on top of him in his attempt to get up and join the fighting that had already begun in the guild. With everyone either out cold or fighting, Lucy had been the only one available to take them both home before they could get trampled on any further.

"Ngh …"

Her brown eyes fell once again on him. He looked about ready to pass out any second. Natsu never got this drunk before. Usually a few drinks were his limit and he would spend the rest of the time destroying the tables along with everyone else. This time he had barely gotten any punches in before someone sucker punched him. She could see the dark bruise starting to form under his left eye and sighed again.

"You idiot … Why did you have to go and agree to that stupid bet with Gray?"

-x-

Gray snickered as he leaned across the table, inching his face closer towards his fellow teammate who was glaring daggers at the ice mage.

"What did you say, pervert?"

The smirk on his face grew wider as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "You heard me, lava breath. I said that you couldn't out drink me even if I gave you a handicap."

This statement didn't go so well for Natsu who was now fuming. If it was possible … well, Lucy didn't have any doubts with Natsu … steam would probably be bursting out from his ears. His face was red with irritation as he glared Gray who merely chuckled and glared back with equal intensity.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm pretty sure I can out drink you any day without a handicap!"

"You sure do sound confident, Natsu." Gray chuckled and waved Mira over towards their table. "We'll see about that. Mira, keep bringing the rounds here. Fire for brains here thinks that he can out drink me."

Mirajane smiled her usual smile, looking between the two with almost an analytical gaze. "Alright, you two. Coming right up. This time, try to refrain from breaking the glasses. The new shipment just came in and I'd hate to have to order more cases of them."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the ice mage and the dragon slayer exchanged insults and started smack talking each other.

Lucy gazed on, slightly amused at how easily the two were riled up over the simplest of things.

Her eyes glanced towards Erza who was now leaning on Gray for support after having guzzled several large glasses of wine. The poor S Class mage had been tricked by the devious Gray for the first time in a while and was now barely able to keep a straight face for a few minutes before breaking out into a fit of girlish giggles. Those girlish giggles, however, did not last very long when a stray bolt of magic ended up hitting Erza's beloved slice of strawberry cheesecake. Lucy gulped as she watched the scarlet haired woman go rigid for a moment before a dark aura seemed to engulf her. This aura didn't go unnoticed by their fellow teammates who had paused their argument to shrink away from whatever hell was about to break loose.

"Who. Did. That?"

Her words were sharp as she pushed away from the table, knocking over the plates with a shatter as she leapt at the first possible person she could reach in the fray of fighting mages. Bodies were beginning to fly across the room in various directions as the drunken mage began to punch, kick, and throw her fellow guild members for destroying her precious pastry.

Lucy sighed as she watched Erza re-quip before disappearing under the mass of bodies. One thing was for sure. An angry drunk Erza was a whole lot scarier than a sober one.

It wasn't too long before Mirajane arrived with two large trays of beer, each on one hand.

"I could have come and helped you with that." Lucy frowned as she took one of the trays from the barmaid who simply shot her a smile.

"It's not as though I can't handle carrying two measly trays, Lucy dear." She laughed and started unloading the large amount of beer onto the table. The moment the glasses touched the wood of the table, the boys had already started snatching them away. They were guzzling the beer at a frightening speed as though their life depended on it. It was almost sickening to watch them as they downed about ten glasses in less than ten minutes.

Lucy watched in utter dismay as the glasses started to pile up. Somehow they were managing to keep track of exactly how much they could drink without losing count once. They were at the ten minute mark and already the glasses had been discarded across the table and on the ground surrounding them.

"Don't you guys think you should slow down? I don't think that's exactly healthy to be drinking that much at one time …"

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Natsu managed to spit out during an exchange of glasses. "A little alcohol won't hurt, right Happy?"

The blue exceed that had been ducking glasses since they had started beamed. "Aye, sir!"

She exhaled loudly as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. There was no hope in trying to stop them now. "Just don't come running to me when you both have killer hangovers tomorrow morning."

15 minutes later …

This was it. It was all down to the final glass that remained on their table. Both Gray and Natsu were red from the amount of alcohol they had consumed and both were shooting the last glass a look of pure horror and disgust.

"This is it, Natsu. Whoever drinks this glass is the winner." Gray slurred as he used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Natsu groaned slightly as he stared at the glass with a hazy look. He didn't know he could even fit another glass into his stomach. It felt as though his stomach would burst if anything else tried to make its way down his esophagus. Gray caught the look on his face and let out a laugh. "Don't tell me you're going to chicken out on this one now, flame brain. And here I was thinking that this would actually be worth my time."

"Shut up, boxer boy." Natsu hissed as his eyes were now set on grabbing that glass before Gray could even come near it. "You'll be begging me for mercy when I'm the one that drinks that glass."

The ice mage's eyes gleamed as both of them got ready to pounce on it. To keep it fair, Happy was watching carefully as he started counting down.

"Aye! Ready? 3 … 2 …"

Both of their eyes narrowed as they both stood from their seats. A matter of pride was at stake now. The loser would be the laughing stock between the two for who knew how long. All they knew was that the lone beer would be the deciding factor of their fate.

"1!"

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

Lucy's eyes widened as both their hands collided with the glass at the same time. The force sent the glass flying yet the contents miraculous remained in its container as it soared through the air. Natsu and Gray watched in dismay as it flew away from the table.

"Damn it." Natsu cursed and pushed off from the table in a drunken haze. His feet managed to find the correct footing as he rushed to catch the glass before it could fall. He could see it right before his eyes. It was going to land in his hands. He was going to beat Gray and make him eat his words just by catching this glass. "I got it!"

Gray's eyes narrowed as he put his fist on the palm of his hand. "Oh no you don't …" He placed his hands on the floor and looked up. "Ice Make: Floor!"

The ice spread quickly, covering the ground starting at where Gray's hands were and moved at top speed in Natsu's direction. The dragon slayer was quick but not quick enough in his drunken state to avoid stepping on the ice that had formed under his very feet. Gray broke out laughing as he watched the pink haired drunk flail around in a un-Natsu like manner before falling backwards onto the ground.

With quick run, Gray caught the glass with one hand and gulped down the contents before Natsu could get back onto his knees. "It looks like I won this round, eh Natsu?" He chuckled and walked away, leaving a pissed off Natsu kneeling on the floor.

"Damn it, Gray! You cheated!" He hissed through clenched teeth. He grunted and pushed himself up onto his feet and ran clumsily towards the ice mage.

Lucy frowned and stood up from where she had been sitting. Even Happy had flown off of the table towards his partner to stop him from doing anything rash. "Natsu, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be trying to fight in your state. You drank probably a whole barrel by yourself at least."

Her words fell on deaf ears again as he made a run for Gray only to have another drunkard swing his fist at him. With the alcohol severely affecting his reflexes, he moved only quickly enough for the fist to hit him in the cheek rather than the eye. The lack of balance didn't help the matter as he found himself tumbling backwards with blurry vision.

"Natsu!"

"Aye!"

Lucy gasped as she ran over towards the barely conscious Natsu. Happy, who had been behind him at the time, had been crushed underneath Natsu's weight and was currently unconscious. She sighed as she looked down at his flushed face, a soft smile tugging at her lips before she rolled him over to grab Happy from underneath.

"You're such a troublemaker …"

-x-

Lucy huffed as she stumbled through the partially empty streets of Magnolia. Natsu was still not fully there to walk on his own in the slightest bit; thus, the poor stellar mage had resorted to practically dragging him limply through town.

"What the hell does he eat? It's like carrying a ton of bricks …" she muttered under her breath as she looked to the pink haired man leaning on her shoulder. He had such a peaceful look on his face for someone who had just lost to his proclaimed rival. "Let's get you home."

She took a deep breath before continuing on her journey down the cobblestone streets. It was at that moment that she had to pause and looked around.

Where exactly did Natsu live anyways?

Lucy groaned and mentally slapped herself for attempting to escort the dragon slayer home without asking anyone for directions to his house. It wasn't as though she could back around and ask them. Her gaze drifted back towards Natsu and she nudged him with her shoulder in an attempt to get his attention.

"Natsu! Get it together. I need to know where you live."

"Ugh …" Natsu opened his eyes slightly as he lifted his head to look at her. "Why do you wanna know where I live, Lucy? Don't tell me you've picked up on Juvia's stalking habit …" He frowned as he leaned closer towards her. Lucy rolled her eyes as she pushed him back gently. "Don't be ridiculous. I need to get you home but I have no idea where you live."

The pink haired man merely shrugged his shoulders and muttered something along the lines of "beats me," before closing his eyes again.

She could feel her head throbbing now and huffed. "What do you mean 'beats me'?" she shook him as his head simply lulled to the side, black eyes opening once more this time as he grinned at her irritation.

"You're cute when you get angry, Luce."

"C-cute?"

Lucy could feel her face heating up now at his random statement. What was with him? One moment he was calling her a stalker and the next he was calling her cute. "You're drunk, Natsu." She pointed out quickly trying to pretend as though he never made the comment. "Since you're not going to tell me where you live then I have no other choice than to take you to my place."

They walked on for what felt like hours although it was only several minutes. With Natsu swaying in every which direction while making obnoxious comments towards random people on the streets, it was almost impossible to get anywhere closer towards her house.

Eventually his outbursts in his drunken state had escalated to the point where he couldn't even decipher between normal Magnolian citizens and inanimate objects.

Several times Lucy had to stop to dissuade the fire eating mage from picking fights with various shrubbery and trash cans. Natsu wasn't exactly the brightest mage there was, but even this was dropping to a new low for him.

"Oi! Stop staring at me like that, boxer pervert!"

"Natsu, that's not Gray! That's a trashcan."

"What do you think you're looking at? Keep walking now."

"… That's a dog, Natsu …"

"They're out to get me, Luce. Just look at how devious they look."

"Will you just shut up and stop struggling?"

After a long struggle to convince the dragon slayer that there was nobody after his life and that Gray wasn't standing around every corner, they finally made it through the door. Lucy let out a heavy as she pushed her back up against the door and slid down. Natsu did the same seeing as how he was still using her for support.

They sat there for several long moments just listening to the silence in the room. Neither of them spoke a word as they sat there motionless. Minutes passed before either them said a word to each other.

"Hey, Lucy …"

"Yeah? What is it, Na ..." Lucy turned her head, almost jumping out of her skin at how close his face to hers. She could feel his warm breath tickling the skin of her cheeks as he looked at her. "Ehh … Natsu, you're a bit too close."

He didn't seem to hear her words as he looked at her, eyes unwavering as he closed the distance between them. "I've never noticed until now, but you have some pretty damn gorgeous eyes, Luce."

His compliment sent the heat straight to her cheeks as Lucy controlled herself from gawking at him. He was saying weird stuff again just like earlier.

"Natsu, are you okay? Did that punch damage some brain cells?" Lucy frowned as she reached out a hand to press it to his forehead. Perhaps he was coming down with something after consuming all that alcohol in such a short amount of time.

"I'm fine, Lucy." Natsu insisted and snatched her hand away from his forehead. He didn't release her hand however and kept it in his larger ones. "Is it so wrong of me to have reached a revelation here?" He raised an eyebrow at her, almost as though as he was trying to gauge her reaction to his slurred words.

She shook her head, her blonde locks swaying from side to side. A smile tugged at his lips as he used his other hand to grasp a few stray strands and brought them to his lips. Her brown eyes widened at his actions and her mouth was slightly gaping in dismay. Who was this persona and what did he do with the wild Natsu Dragneel that had a habit of breaking and entering and setting things on fire? Surely this wasn't the same Natsu she had grown to care for.

He let out a heavy sigh as he let go of her hair.

"Why are you always bothering me?"

Lucy frowned at him, obviously taken aback by his comment. "Excuse me?"

"You're always bothering me." He repeated again. This time his tone was different. It almost sounded as though he was confused. "How come you're always in my thoughts, Luce? Every time I close my eyes you're there. I don't know why, but I see you everywhere even when you're not even around me." His hand tightened around hers as his gaze intensified.

"Why is it like this, Luce?" Natsu muttered and leaned in towards her.

Her face was officially pinker than his hair. She was at a loss for words at his sudden drunken confessions. With him being under the influence, there was no way of possibly figuring out if what he said was his actually thoughts, but from the look on his face, she could tell he was dead serious.

"Natsu …"

He placed her hand on his chest, his eyes still never leaving hers. "Do you feel it, Luce? This isn't normal. For a while now, my heart hasn't been beating the same since we met. I just thought it was normal but it only happens when I'm with you."

She could feel the faint beat of his heart through his skin. Lucy felt her chest clench for a moment before she could breathe again. Her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat when she attempted to speak to the dragon slayer who was basically professing his love for her even if he didn't realize it.

"I don't know if this feeling is good or not, but it must be good if I feel lighter and happier when you're around."

Natsu moved his hands away from hers before gently cupping her face. Before she knew it, his face was only millimeters from hers. She held her breath and shut her eyes tightly as she tensed up.

His lips met hers softly, barely brushing against hers before he pressed on, trapping her between him and the wall.

He broke away moments later with a wide grin on his face. Lucy cracked open her eyes slowly, her face flushed from embarrassment and from the kiss. Their eyes met for a second before Natsu let out a carefree laugh and pulled her into a tight hug.

"N-Natsu …" she started to object to the sudden embrace, but decided against it when his warmth engulfed her. She couldn't stop the smile from creeping up on her lips as they sat there together, curled up against each other.

"I have something to say as well …" Her voice was shaking, unsure of whether she was ready to even say anything to the man that had her pressed up against him. She could feel the confidence slowly starting swell inside her and took a deep breath before pulling away. "Natsu, I lo-"

Lucy stopped. The gentle sound of snoring reached her ears and she immediately pushed him away from her at an arm's length. His head was lulled off to the side, his eyes closed and his face was serene. She frowned and shook her head in frustration. "He fell asleep …" she grumbled. The anger she could feel rising inside seemed to dissipate once she looked at him again. After what he had been through during the night, it was no surprise he was out cold now.

She laid him back gently against the door before pushing up onto her feet. Her feet padded lightly against the wood floor as she grabbed one of the blankets off of her bed and brought it back towards the door. Carefully she laid the blanket over his sleeping form and pressed her lips against his cheek.

"I love you too, Natsu …"

Thank you all very much for reading 'Drunken Confessions'. It means a lot to me as a writer to have people reading my stories, and I hope to be able to write more fanfics soon. I wish I could give you all cookies, but instead I shall give you internet brownies ;3 Leave a review, favorite, subscribe. Have a lovely day~