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“Luce.”
Natsu poked the blonde lying on her stomach, completely absorbed in what looked suspiciously like a wedding magazine.
“Luce.” Another poke.
Lucy lifted her head with an irritated sigh and glanced over her shoulder at the salmon-haired menace behind her. “What, Natsu?”
“Why are you reading a wedding magazine all of a sudden?” he asked, squinting at the glossy pages. “You haven’t even been kissed.”
Lucy’s eye twitched. “Can’t a girl dream?” she snapped. “And I have been kissed. Shut up, Natsu.”
Natsu snorted. “My lips brushing yours because Erza smashed our heads together to stop us from fighting does not count as a kiss, Lucy.”
“And what would you know about kissing, Mr. I’m-Above-Romance?” she shot back. “You’re just as inexperienced as I am.”
“He’s inexperienced by choice, Lushy,” Happy chimed in from where he was lounging comfortably near the window. “Can’t say the same about you.”
Lucy slowly closed the magazine. Then she smacked Natsu across the head with it. “I’ve had enough of you freeloaders,” she huffed, shoving at his shoulder as he sprawled across her bed like he owned the place. “You barge into my apartment, raid my fridge, wreck my furniture, and then tag-team me about my love life!”
“Or lack thereof,” Happy added helpfully.
“You’re next, you stupid cat!”
Lucy launched herself at Natsu, trying to shove him off her bed. The mattress dipped under their combined weight as she climbed over him, grabbing fistfuls of his pink hair while attempting to push him off.
Natsu only laughed. “Luce, you’re not even trying!”
He easily caught both her wrists in one hand, pinning them above her head. Lucy wriggled uselessly, glaring up at him.
Then suddenly, as if struck by lightning, she stopped. “Natsu?” Her tone had changed. The laughter died on his lips immediately. His brows furrowed as concern replaced the grin.
“What’s wrong, Luce? Did I accidentally hurt you?”
“No,” she said quickly.
Then she hesitated. Her eyes drifted away for a second before returning to him. “I was just wondering…” she murmured. “If I ever get married… you’d walk me down the aisle, right?”
Natsu blinked at her. Once. Twice. His expression slowly shifted into something between confusion and disbelief, like she’d suddenly sprouted horns.
Lucy saw the look on his face and immediately groaned, burying her face in a pillow as she rolled off him. “Forget I said that.”
Natsu propped himself up on his elbows. “Forget what?” he said. “I thought that was obvious.”
Lucy peeked up slightly.
“Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t face-plant on the way down the aisle and scare the poor guy off,” he continued casually.
Lucy lifted her head fully now.
“What?” Natsu frowned. “I’m your best friend. I get priority privileges.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you were going to ask someone else. Lucy, if you say Gray, I swear to god—”
He was cut off before he could finish his sentence. Lucy suddenly tackled him again. He yelped as they tumbled back onto the mattress, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug.
“You’re right,” she said brightly. “You’re my best friend. You get all the privileges.” She grinned down at him. “You can even be the maid of honor.”
“Damn straight,” Natsu replied without missing a beat. He reached up and pinched both her cheeks. “And that’s not all. Whoever you marry has to pass my evaluation first.”
Lucy groaned as she rolled off him and flopped onto her back beside him.
“They need to be stronger than me at least.”
Lucy covered her face with her hands. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Hey, I’m serious! I gotta make sure they can protect you.”
Lucy turned her head to look at him, exasperated. “Just admit you’re secretly in love with me and want me to stay single forever, Natsu.”
Happy floated between them mid-air. “Now now, Lushy,” he said wisely, “it’s not that hopeless.”
Lucy squinted at him. “What does that mean?”
Happy raised a paw. “That basically means that your options have pretty much been narrowed down to just three.”
Lucy already knew where this was going and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Right, Happy,” Natsu added smugly. “First option, Erza,” he said thoughtfully.
Lucy stared at him.
“As cute as you two would look,” Natsu continued, “I’m pretty sure she’s in love with Jellal. So that rules her out.”
Lucy snorted. “Wow. Even a dumbass like you picked up on that. Color me impressed.”
“Please,” Natsu scoffed. “I’m uninterested in romance, not oblivious to it.” He held up another finger. “Next up, Gildarts.”
Lucy gagged. “Absolutely not.”
“As much as he’d probably love that,” Natsu went on thoughtfully, “I’m not sure Cana would want you as a stepmother.”
“I think she might try to poison your sake, Lushy,” Happy added.
Lucy shuddered violently. “Next!”
“That leaves us with…” Natsu grinned. “Laxus.”
Lucy blinked. “Laxus?”
“You and Laxus would make cute blonde babies, Lushy!” Happy announced cheerfully.
Lucy turned bright red. “Hold it, cat! No one’s making any babies!”
“Think about it, Luce,” Natsu continued, completely ignoring her embarrassment. “He’s strong. He’s rich. He’s tall enough that you won’t have to climb shelves like a squirrel anymore.”
“I do not climb shelves like a—”
“And if anyone bothers you,” Natsu finished, smirking, “he’ll probably electrocute them.”
Lucy huffed and a brief silence settled over the room.
Natsu rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his hand as he studied her. “Besides,” he added casually, “you can’t seriously tell me you’ve never found Laxus attractive.”
Lucy froze. Slowly, very slowly, she lowered her hands from her face and turned her head toward him. “I beg your pardon?”
Natsu raised a brow. “C’mon, Luce. Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying!” she shot back immediately.
Natsu snorted while Happy drifted closer, clearly interested now. “You expect me to believe you’ve never looked at him and thought wow?” Natsu continued.
Lucy opened her mouth to argue, and then paused. Because unfortunately… her brain, traitorous thing that it was, immediately began pulling up images.
Laxus leaning against the guild hall wall, broad shoulders filling out that compression t-shirt he always wore when he trained. Those stupidly defined arms that were almost always crossed over his chest. The sharp line of his jaw. The deep rumble of his voice when he spoke, low and rough and carrying across the entire hall without him even trying.
Lucy groaned. “No,” she muttered, turning away. “I’m not having this conversation.”
“Oh ho,” Happy said, eyes lighting up. “That’s the sound of someone thinking about it!”
“I am not!”
Natsu grinned. “Yes you are.”
Lucy huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine,” she said defensively. “Maybe he’s… objectively attractive.”
Natsu burst out laughing. “Objectively attractive?”
“What?!” Lucy snapped. “He is!”
“Luce,” Natsu said, barely holding back his laughter, “that sounded like you were describing a piece of furniture.”
Happy nodded solemnly and Lucy grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at them.
“Shut up!”
The pillow smacked Natsu square in the face, but he only laughed harder.
“I’m serious!” Lucy insisted, sitting up now. “He’s—he’s—” She gestured vaguely in the air. “You know. Big.”
Natsu leaned back on his elbows, grinning like a menace. “So you admit it.”
Lucy scowled. “I admit that he’s objectively attractive,” she corrected stiffly.
“Uh-huh.”
“And strong.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And tall.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And—”
She stopped. Because now that she’d started thinking about it… her brain was supplying far too much detail.
Like the time Laxus had walked past her at the guild, fresh out of training, a faint sheen of sweat across his skin and lightning crackling lazily over his shoulders. Or the way his voice dropped when he was irritated, rough and gravelly and—
Lucy suddenly grabbed another pillow and shoved it over her face.
“Oh no,” she groaned. “This is your fault.”
“What did I do?” Natsu asked innocently.
“You made me think about it!”
Happy giggled. “About Laxus’s muscles?”
Lucy made a strangled noise. “I hate both of you.”
Natsu smirked. “So you do think he’s hot.”
Lucy peeked at him from behind the pillow. “…I said he’s attractive.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It is not!”
“Luce.”
“What?”
Natsu’s grin widened. “You’re blushing.”
Lucy immediately slapped the pillow back over her face. “I am not!”
“You are,” Happy said, delighted. “Your ears are red!”
Lucy groaned louder. “Congratulations,” she muttered from beneath the pillow. “You’ve both ruined Laxus for me forever.”
Natsu chuckled. “Nah,” he said.
Lucy slowly lowered the pillow again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His grin turned downright mischievous. “It means,” he said, “now I’m curious.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “…Curious about what?”
Natsu sat up, cracking his knuckles. “How Laxus would react if he knew Lucy Heartfilia was thinking about his muscles.”
Lucy went pale. “Natsu.”
Happy’s grin widened. “Oh this is gonna be fun.”
Lucy lunged forward and grabbed Natsu by the scarf. “You will do no such thing.”
Natsu only laughed but the gleam in his eyes said he was already considering it. “Relax, Luce. I’m just saying—”
“You’re ‘just saying’ nothing!”
Happy floated nearby, watching the struggle with bright curiosity. “I think Laxus would like knowing Lucy thinks he’s attractive.”
“I did not say that!”
“You did,” Natsu said, grinning like the menace he was. “You said he was big.”
Lucy felt heat crawl up her neck. “That’s not what I meant!”
Natsu leaned closer, voice dropping to a teasing murmur. “Oh? Then what did you mean?”
Lucy shoved him away. “Get out of my apartment!”
Later that afternoon, the guild hall was its usual controlled chaos. Laughter roared from one corner where Elfman was arguing about something being “manly,” while Mira calmly served drinks behind the bar. Gray and Cana were already halfway into another drinking contest, and Erza was too engrossed in eating a piece of strawberry cake like it was her last meal on Earth.
Lucy stepped through the doors with a tired sigh and without even realizing it, her eyes automatically drifted to him.
Laxus sat at the far end of the hall, one arm draped over the back of his chair. His coat hung loose around his shoulders, massive frame relaxed but imposing even in stillness. He wasn’t doing anything particularly noteworthy. Just drinking. And yet somehow he still dominated the room.
Lucy quickly looked away.
This is ridiculous.
Natsu’s stupid comments had burrowed into her brain like a parasite. She tried to focus on literally anything else. Unfortunately, her eyes drifted back.
Laxus tipped his glass back, throat shifting as he swallowed.
Lucy’s gaze lingered a second too long before she abruptly marched to the bar and dropped onto a stool. “Mira, please give me something strong.”
Mira smiled knowingly. “One drink or three?”
“…Start with two.”
Behind her, the guild doors slammed open.
“NATSU!”
Lucy closed her eyes.
Of course.
“I swear to God if you—”
“Hey guys!” Natsu’s voice boomed across the hall. “Did you know Lucy has a thing for—”
Lucy shot out of her chair like lightning. Her hand clamped over his mouth before the sentence could finish. The guild fell silent as every single head turned.
Natsu blinked down at her hand over his mouth and peeled it off his face. “Lucy was just telling me how attractive—”
She elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.
“Ow!”
“Finish that sentence and you die.”
Happy floated in behind them. “Lushy thinks Laxus is hot!”
Lucy’s soul briefly left her body as several heads turned slowly toward the back of the hall.
Toward Laxus.
Lucy did not turn. She refused. She absolutely refused.
Natsu leaned closer, whispering with malicious delight. “You know he can hear us, right?”
Lucy felt her stomach drop and she forced herself to look. Laxus hadn’t moved. He still sat in his chair, glass in hand but now, he was looking directly at her, and he was smirking.
Lucy’s brain short-circuited. “Great,” she muttered. “Fantastic. I’m moving countries.”
Lucy sat at the far end of the bar, elbow resting on the polished wood while she stared into her drink. She was trying very hard not to look and failing spectacularly at it.
This was entirely Natsu’s fault.
Before today, Laxus had simply been… Laxus. The terrifyingly powerful S-Class mage who occasionally sat in the corner looking like he might punch someone if they breathed too loudly. Lucy had respected him. Maybe admired him a little. But she had never, never, thought about him the way she was currently thinking about him.
Her gaze flickered across the room again.
Damn it.
Laxus leaned back in his chair, broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his shirt. The motion pulled the material tight across his chest before settling again.
Lucy took a long sip of her drink. Her brain, unfortunately, supplied commentary.
Strong. Broad. Tall enough that he could probably pin me against a wall without even trying.
Lucy nearly choked on her drink. “Stop,” she muttered to herself.
Behind the bar, Mira hid a smile. “So Laxus, huh?”
Lucy groaned. “It’s not like what Natsu made it out to be, Mira.”
“Hmm… if you say so, Lucy.”
Her gaze slid across the room again despite herself. Laxus was speaking to Freed now. Even from here, Lucy could hear the low rumble of his voice. Something about it vibrated down her spine.
Lucy took another sip of her drink.
This is ridiculous.
She tried focusing on something else. Anything else!
Instead, her attention kept drifting back to the same things. The way lightning flickered lazily around Laxus’s shoulders when he shifted. The confident way he occupied space. The way people instinctively gave him room when he walked. And worst of all, the way his eyes had looked at her earlier.
Lucy pressed the rim of her glass to her lips, staring into it. She could still feel that look. Slow and knowing. Like he’d caught her staring and enjoyed it. Her stomach tightened.
Across the room, Laxus suddenly stood and Lucy’s head lifted automatically.
Why am I doing this?
He rolled his shoulders once before starting toward the bar. Lucy froze.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each footfall felt deliberate. Lucy told herself not to look but her eyes ignored her completely. By the time she realized what was happening, Laxus had stopped beside her. Close. Much closer than she expected.
Up close, he was even bigger than he looked from across the room.
Lucy slowly tilted her head back and Laxus glanced down at her, stormy grey eyes sharp with amusement. “So,” he said, voice low. “I hear you’ve been talking about me.”
Lucy nearly died. She stared straight ahead at the polished wood of the bar, clearing her throat before she spoke. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Laxus huffed out a quiet chuckle. The sound vibrated low in his chest. Lucy hated that she noticed that.
“Is that so?” He asked, picking up the glass she had previously been drinking from and taking a slow sip.
Lucy very carefully did not watch the movement of his throat. She failed. Spectacularly.
Laxus lowered the glass and turned slightly toward her. “You sure about that?” he asked.
Lucy forced a tight smile. “I’m positive.”
A beat passed and then Laxus dragged the empty stool beside her out with one boot. The scrape of wood across the floor felt absurdly loud and Lucy’s spine straightened immediately. He sat much closer than necessary. The stool creaked faintly under his weight as he leaned his forearms on the bar, broad shoulders filling Lucy’s peripheral vision.
Lucy kept staring straight ahead. She could practically feel the heat radiating off him.
“You know,” Laxus said casually, “for someone who ‘wasn’t talking about me’…you’ve been staring a lot tonight.”
Lucy choked on her drink, just a little, and set the glass down with exaggerated care. “I have not been staring.”
Laxus raised a brow. “Really.”
Lucy turned toward him, determined to hold her ground. “Yes.”
Their eyes met. That was a mistake.
Up close, Laxus’s gaze was sharper than she remembered, like he was measuring her reaction to every word.
Lucy forced herself not to look away. “I was just looking around the room,” she said firmly.
“Mhm.”
“You happen to be in the room.”
“Mhm.”
“That does not mean I was staring.”
“Mhm.”
Lucy narrowed her eyes. “Why do you keep saying ‘mhm’?”
Laxus’s mouth curved slightly. Because he knew exactly what he was doing and he was thoroughly enjoying it. “Because,” he said, voice dipping lower, “I caught you.”
Lucy’s pulse jumped. “You didn’t catch anything.”
“Blondie.”
Lucy froze and his smirk deepened slightly.
“Your ears turn red when you lie.”
Lucy immediately turned away again. “It’s because I’m drunk.”
“Sure.”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, one arm resting along the back of Lucy’s stool. Not touching but close enough that she felt boxed in.
Lucy became acutely aware of the space between them. Or lack of it. She picked up her drink again just to have something to do with her hands. She tried to relax. Tried very hard to pretend she wasn’t aware of every shift of Laxus’s posture. Every quiet crackle of lightning that flickered along his skin.
Every time his shoulder moved slightly closer. She took another sip of her drink.
Bad idea.
Because when she set the glass down, Laxus leaned in so that his voice brushed low against her ear. “Still staring.”
Lucy’s brain briefly stopped functioning. “I—”
She turned her head quickly and nearly bumped into him. They were suddenly very close. Much closer than before and Lucy could see the faint scar along his jaw. The sharp line of his cheekbone. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly like he was waiting to see what she’d do. Her pulse hammered.
“See?” he murmured. “Caught you.”
Lucy forced herself to lean back. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?”
“Absolutely.”
Laxus watched her for a second longer. Then leaned back again, taking another sip of his drink like he hadn’t just completely derailed her nervous system.
Lucy stared into her glass again. She could still feel the heat of him beside her. This was torture.
Across the guild hall, Natsu sat sprawled at one of the long tables. Happy hovered beside him. Both of them were watching the bar like it was the most entertaining show in Magnolia.
Natsu grinned. “Oh this is great.”
Happy nodded enthusiastically. “Lushy is malfunctioning.”
“Completely.”
At the bar, Lucy was trying very hard to act normal and Laxus was very obviously enjoying himself.
Natsu leaned back in his chair. “I knew this would be fun.”
Happy tilted his head. “Do you think Lushy will survive?”
Natsu snorted. “Probably not.” He watched as Laxus leaned slightly closer again and Lucy stiffened immediately. Natsu burst out laughing. “Yeah,” he said. “She’s doomed.”
“Do you think we’ll get out of getting Lushy a wedding present if this works out? We set her up with him, anyway,” Happy asked the important question.
“I don’t know about that one, buddy. Lucy can be pretty greedy at times.” Natsu replied, still engrossed watching the scene unfolding in front of him.
Lucy stayed at the bar longer than she meant to. Mostly because leaving meant walking past Laxus and she was currently pretending he did not exist. Which was extremely difficult considering he was sitting less than two feet away.
Eventually the guild began to thin out. Gray and Cana had moved on to arguing loudly about something incomprehensible, while Erza had already retired for the evening.
Lucy drained the last of her drink. “That’s enough embarrassment for one night,” she muttered.
Mira smiled knowingly. “Heading home?”
“Yes,” Lucy said firmly, sliding off the stool. “Goodnight Mira!”
The guild hall air felt cooler once she stepped outside. Magnolia’s streets were quieter now, lit by warm lantern light and the soft hum of nighttime life settling in.
Lucy exhaled. Finally. Peace.
“Leaving already?”
She stopped walking and her shoulders stiffened but she did not turn around. “You know,” Lucy said slowly, “for someone who claims that I’m the one who has been staring at you… you seem to appear near me an awful lot tonight.”
Footsteps approached and then Laxus stepped into her peripheral vision, hands tucked loosely into the pockets of his coat. “Coincidence,” he said.
Lucy eyed him skeptically. “Sure it is.”
He glanced down the street. “You live this way.”
It wasn’t a question.
Lucy blinked. “…how do you know that?”
“You’ve walked that direction after leaving the guild hall plenty of times.”
Lucy frowned slightly.
He’d noticed that? She shook the thought away quickly.
“Well, congratulations,” she said. “Your observational skills are impressive.”
Laxus huffed a quiet laugh. “Relax, blondie.”
They began walking. Lucy hadn’t technically invited him to join her. He just… did.
For a while, neither of them spoke. The quiet stretch of the street wrapped around them, broken only by the soft rhythm of their footsteps.
Lucy tried very hard to focus on literally anything except the massive man walking beside her. Unfortunately, that proved difficult. Her brain kept replaying the evening like a cursed loop.
“This is stupid,” she muttered under her breath.
Laxus glanced down at her. “Something on your mind?”
“Not particularly.”
He didn’t look convinced but they turned another corner and soon Lucy’s apartment building came into view at the end of the street.
Relief flickered through her chest.
Almost home.
Almost free from whatever strange tension had taken hold of the evening.
She slowed as they reached the front steps. “Well,” she said, gesturing vaguely toward the building. “This is me.”
Laxus stopped beside her. His broad shoulders cast long shadows across the steps under the lantern light.
Lucy suddenly felt very aware of the quiet. Very aware of the fact that they were alone.
“Well,” she repeated awkwardly.
Laxus studied her for a moment. “You nervous around me now?”
Lucy blinked. “No.”
“Your pulse says otherwise.”
Her eyes widened. “…you cannot hear my pulse.”
He smirked slightly. “Dragon slayer senses.”
Lucy groaned. “That is an unfair advantage.”
“Maybe.”
She climbed the steps quickly, eager to put some distance between them. Her fingers fumbled slightly as she pulled out her keys.
Behind her, Laxus stepped up onto the landing. The space suddenly felt much smaller.
Lucy managed to unlock the door, but before she could open it, a large hand pressed flat against the wood beside her head. She froze. Laxus had stepped closer. Not touching her but close enough that she could feel the heat of him at her back. The door remained closed. Lucy stared at the key still in the lock, her pulse had definitely picked up now.
Slowly, she turned her head. “…what are you doing?”
Laxus leaned one shoulder lightly against the doorframe, still blocking her in. Still watching her with that same amused look he’d had all evening. “You tell me.”
Lucy swallowed. “You followed me home.”
“Walked you home.”
“I did not ask for that.”
“Didn’t complain either.”
Lucy turned fully now, her back against the door. He was close. Too close.
Her head tilted back slightly just to meet his gaze. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re currently trapping me against my own front door.”
Laxus’s eyes flicked briefly to her lips and then back up. His voice lowered. “I’m thinking.”
Lucy’s breath hitched before she could stop it. “About?”
A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Whether Natsu was exaggerating.”
Lucy blinked. “…About what?”
Laxus leaned just a fraction closer. Not touching but near enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath. “About what he and Happy said about you finding me hot.”
Lucy’s brain went completely blank. For a heartbeat she just stared at him.
Laxus held her gaze, calm, patient, like he had all the time in the world to wait for her reaction. The air between them felt thick and charged with something.
Lucy could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears. She was suddenly very aware of everything: the solid heat of him standing so close, the way his arm braced against the door beside her head, the faint crackle of lightning that danced lazily along his skin like it had a life of its own. He was still watching her. Waiting.
Lucy inhaled slowly. Then, before her brain could catch up with her mouth, “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
The words slipped out and for the first time that night, Laxus looked surprised. It wasn’t anything dramatic, just a brief flicker across his expression. His brows lifted slightly as if he hadn’t expected her to throw the challenge back at him.
Lucy felt her stomach flip but she didn’t back down. Her chin lifted a fraction, stubbornness settling in even as her heart hammered violently against her ribs. “Well?” she murmured.
Something shifted in his eyes. The amusement didn’t disappear but it deepened. “Careful, blondie,” Laxus said quietly. “You might not like what you start.”
Lucy’s lips curved faintly despite the nerves clawing at her chest. “You seem pretty confident about that.”
A low chuckle rumbled from him and then he moved. Deliberately. His hand slid from the doorframe to the wall beside her head as he leaned in, closing the space between them inch by inch.
Lucy’s breath caught.
Up close like this, he was overwhelming, broad shoulders boxing her in, the heat of him pressing through the cool night air. She could smell smoke and something electric, sharp and clean all at once.
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides. And then he kissed her.
The moment their lips met, her mind went completely blank. The kiss itself was heat and pressure and sudden intensity that stole the breath straight out of her lungs. Lucy gasped against his mouth, and Laxus took immediate advantage of it, his hand sliding to the back of her neck to steady her as he deepened it. His other hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, till their chests were almost flush against each other.
Lucy’s hands grabbed fistfuls of the front of his shirt before she could stop herself. For someone who had initiated the challenge, she hadn’t been prepared for the sheer force of the kiss. Laxus’s kiss was just like everything else he did: confident and unrestrained, like he intended to leave no doubt about what he wanted.
Her back pressed harder into the door. His thumb brushed lightly along the curve of her jaw as he tilted her head just enough to deepen the angle. Lucy’s pulse was racing now. The kiss grew slower but somehow more intense, the initial spark melting into something heavier, something that sent heat curling low in her stomach.
When they finally broke apart, Lucy’s breath came out uneven. She blinked up at him, slightly dazed.
Laxus didn’t move far. His forehead hovered just inches from hers, gray eyes darker than before, almost pitch black now.
“Well,” he murmured. “Guess that answers that.”
Lucy swallowed, still gripping the front of his shirt, “…answers what?”
Laxus’s mouth curved slowly. “That Natsu wasn’t exaggerating.” His thumb brushed lightly along the edge of her jaw again as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “About how much you want me.”
For a long second, neither of them moved. Then from somewhere down the street, a very familiar voice shouted. “HEY LAXUS!”
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
Of course. Of course Natsu had followed them.
“ARE YOU TRYING TO STEAL LUCY FROM ME?!”
Laxus groaned.
The moment shattered instantly.
Lucy unwrapped herself from Laxus’s arms and yanked the door open. “I hate both of you,” she muttered.
From the street, Natsu grinned like a man who had just witnessed the greatest entertainment of his life.
Happy floated beside him. “Oh wow,” he said. “That looked like it was getting good.”
Natsu cupped his hands around his mouth. “HEY LUCY! DID HE ASK YOU OUT YET?”
Lucy slammed the door in their faces. Hard.
Outside, Natsu laughed and inside, Lucy leaned back against the door. Her heart was still racing. And the worst part? She could still feel the ghost of Laxus’s presence in the narrow space behind her and the feel of his lips on her own.
“…this is a problem,” she whispered.