Caught With Your Pants Down

Above him, Lucy gasps, but this time it's not because of what he's doing with his tongue.

Natsu freezes, his heart skipping a beat, blood turning to ice in his veins. Did—did the front door just unlock? That's not possible though. Lucy's dad isn't supposed to be home until—

His heart lurches into his throat as he inhales sharply, waiting with bated breath for any other sounds to come from the floor below. Natsu's head tilts towards Lucy's bedroom door, head cocked to the side as he listens. Lucy's fingers curl tighter into his hair as he lifts himself off her, crawling up her body until his mouth is by her ear, breath fanning over her exposed neck. "I thought your dad wasn't coming home until later?" he murmurs, lips brushing her skin. She shivers, but he isn't sure if it's because of him or the fact that her dad might be home earlier than expected.

"He wasn't," she replies softly, hands slipping down to his shoulders. A shaky sound leaves her and he realizes she's laughing nervously. "Oh, he's going to kill you!" Her shoulders shake and she has to press her lips to his shoulder to stop herself from being too loud.

"Lucy!" he hisses back, glaring down at her. "This isn't funny!" Despite this, he has to fight back the smile twitching at his lips. There's nothing funny about her dad murdering him. Nothing at all. Except, this whole situation is so them.

They would get caught in the act like this. Of course they would. That's what always happens. Every single time they try to do anything, someone walks in. Gray, Gajeel, Erza—that one time with that stranger in the grocery store bathrooms. When Loke walked in on them and asked to join—which Natsu nearly killed him for. Or the time Elfman and Evergreen walked in on them during the Christmas party, because they were having the same thoughts as him and Lucy.

And now—now it's Lucy's dad and he's probably going to die. Jude is going to kill him and bury him in the backyard because he caught Natsu with his pants down.

Literally.

Fuck his life.

Lucy shrieks when someone knocks on the door, and Natsu suddenly finds himself on the ground, winded as she kicks him off her. He blinks up at the ceiling, eyes wide in terror.

"Lucy?" Jude asks from the other side of the door. "Are you alright?" Natsu watches as the door knob jiggles, and contemplates jumping out the window and running for his life.

"I'm fine!" Lucy shouts back, jumping off the bed and dashing for the door, leaning her back against it. Her eyes meet his, her face pale and scared and Natsu can't find it in him to appreciate the sight of his half-naked girlfriend. "You just surprised me is all." She laughs awkwardly. "I didn't think you would be home so soon." Natsu misses his reply, but relaxes when he hears footsteps retreating from the door.

Lucy is on him in the next second. "Natsu, you have to get out of here," she hisses, looking around the room with wild eyes. "Dammit! Natsu, you idiot, where did you throw my underwear? Why do you have to be such an animal?"

He huffs, crossing his arms, still on his back as she disappears from his sight for a brief second, returning with a pair of panties in her hand. "Hey, you weren't exactly complaining when I took them off with my teeth." Her face turns red, but he can't tell if she's embarrassed or just really close to making him an unpleasant memory.

He hopes it's the first one.

She steps into her underwear, shimmying them up her hips slowly. Natsu sucks in a sharp breath, eyes following the motion. Suddenly, he doesn't care so much that her dad is home. "Why don't you shut your mouth and do something useful?" She shoots him a glare, crossing her arms over her chest. "And put your pants back on!"

Natsu ignores the last part, smirking. "With my mouth? Because if you sit down I can put it back on your—"

"Natsu!" she whisper-shouts, tossing a pillow at him. It hits his face, and he peels it away with a laugh, throwing it back at her. Sobering quickly, Natsu pushes himself to his feet, scooping his sweatpants and T-shirt off her floor, slipping the pants up his hips.

"So, how am I getting out of here?" he asks softly, looking passed her shoulder to the door. "I could just climb out the window," he tells her, gaze snapping back to hers. It seems logical enough to him. They're only on the second floor, so he can make it if he's careful.

Lucy shakes her head. "And have someone see you scaling the wall? Yeah, because that doesn't seem suspicious at all," she tells him. He can practically feel the sarcasm oozing from her words. "Besides, you have all of your Hockey stuff. I don't think you want to toss that out the window." He nods in agreement, hoisting his bag over his shoulder and picking up his hockey stick, pulling her into his chest with the other and pressing his lips to her temple.

"Looks like I'm using the front door than," he mumbles against her hair, squeezing her against his side tightly. "Think he'll kill me or just mutilate me a little?" he asks. Lucy giggles, arms slipping around his waist.

"I'll hold him back, you run," she jokes. Lucy nuzzles into his neck, kissing his shoulder lightly. "He said he was going to bed, so you should be fine. Just be quiet and try not to fall down the stairs."

"How encouraging," he murmurs, releasing her. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just kisses her quickly and slips out the door.

He nearly makes it to the front door too.

But then the kitchen light turns on and he knows he's in big trouble.

Natsu curses silently, eyes squeezing shut.

"Hello, Mr. Dragneel," a polite voice says.

Natsu turns to the man in the kitchen with a smile. "Hello, Sir," he replies, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Jude looks at him, unimpressed as he sips his coffee.

"Is there a reason you were alone with my daughter while I was gone?" he asks, gaze hard, lips pressed into a tight line. "Alone. In her room. With the door locked." His eyes pierce through Natsu, who shrinks back slightly, feeling like his stomach is suddenly full of ice.

He coughs, trying to come up with an excuse. He glances at the ground, hands squeezing tightly. His eyes snap to the object in his hand, a smile creeping onto his face. "I was showing her my stick," he blurts, happy with himself. His smile falls away as he realizes what he just said. "Hockey stick!" he shouts, holding his hands up defensively. "Because I play hockey. I'm on the hockey team at school. I came here after practice. With my hockey stick. Which I was showing her," he babbles, wincing.

That couldn't have sounded more awkward. Well, looks like he's dead. Which sucks—like a lot. He was kind of hoping to go on a date with Lucy this weekend, but he can't do that if her father eviscerates him.

Jude cocks an eyebrow at him, taking another sip. "But she must have seen it plenty of times."

Natsu snorts. "You have no idea, Sir." The mug slips from Jude's hand and Natsu lets out a whine, wiping a hand across his face. "I fucked up," he whispers. He chuckles nervously. "I suppose you caught me with my pants down, huh?" he jokes.

Jude doesn't laugh with him.

"You're lucky that I didn't."

Natsu cringes. "I believe you." He glances at Jude, who merely shakes his head, gesturing to the door with one hand as he rolls his eyes. Natsu ducks his head, creeping to the door in shame.

"Oh, and, Natsu?" Jude calls after him. Natsu stops, but doesn't turn back, his hand firmly grasping the door knob. "I must say, that shade of red looks dashing on you."

His face flares as he wipes at his lips with the back of his hand. "Thank you, Sir."

AN: Thanks for reading! A second chapter will be coming shortly! Feel free to check out my other fics. As always, reviews are very much appreciated :3