50 Shades of Green: One-Shot

Twenty-two-year-old Lucy Heartfilia is currently sitting at a bar. Her eyes are a warm shade of brown. She is proud of her curvaceous body and works hard to keep it in shape. Her long golden blonde hair is free flowing with her bangs falling above her eyes. She has debated cutting it, but she knows that she will miss the length if she does.

She is wearing a solid grey, cut-out mock neck top with long sleeves. The cut-out V portion displays plenty of cleavage for everyone to see. The top is a snug fit and really highlights her curves. Speaking of highlighting her curves, her tight jeans do the same for her legs. Her black, peep-toe booties that lace up give her a couple of more inches. She is a master at walking in them.

Sitting next to her is Natsu Dragneel who is only a year older than her. He has pink spiky locks that are haphazardly placed and a cowlick makes his bangs stick up in front. With a broad chest and fit build, he has tan skin and mesmerizing dark green eyes.

The long sleeves of his plain black shirt are pushed back to his elbows, revealing the black cuff around his right wrist. His jeans are paired with black Converse high-tops. The look is so simple, but he works it so damn well.

Lucy and Natsu have been best friends for years, but she wants more to their relationship. She wants to date her best friend. She has yet to confess her feelings because she is afraid that she'll ruin what they currently have. However, things aren't looking hopeful for them to date at all…

With his back to Lucy, Natsu is paying attention to a completely other blonde who is plenty pretty. For the most part, he has recently been going after blondes. He'll flirt back when a girl approaches him first though.

To occupy herself, Lucy is stirring around the ice cubes in her empty glass with a straw.

The blonde flirting with Natsu giggles rather loudly because of a joke he just told. "You're so funny!" She giggles some more. "Or should I say punny?"

Lucy resists the urge to glance over at the two or even roll her eyes. She focuses on a particular ice cube as she continues to stir them around. And around. And around…

A brunette and redhead approach their blonde friend, paying no mind to Lucy. "Hey, our song is playing and we hafta dance to it!" the brunette announces.

The redhead eyes Natsu up and down before winking at him. "Your new friend can come along, too," she practically purrs.

Grabbing both of Natsu's hands, the blonde lights up with a smile. "Yes! You have to come with us!"

Lucy takes that as her cue to slip away to go to the bathroom. She doesn't bother to tell Natsu where she is going. He has his hands full anyways with all the attention he is receiving anyways. Making sure that her over-the-shoulder purse is secure, she slides off the stool and walks away.

"Uh, I'm here with a friend," Natsu says.

"What friend?" the blonde questions.

But Lucy misses the rest because she is out of range. After pushing open the door, she moves out of the way as two girls scuttle out of the bathroom. She walks over to a free spot on the counter and takes a moment to look at her reflection.

She is attractive. Plenty attractive. That is just a bonus for her whole package. Lucy has a great personality. She is creative and loves to make things up in her stories. She can be quite sassy, too.

Then Lucy sighs.

But perhaps all of that isn't worth it to Natsu. Lucy has had her eyes on him for quite some time now, but maybe it's time to change that. Maybe it's time to open her eyes to other possibilities out there.

She shakes her head, snapping herself back to reality. No. She'll walk out of this bathroom with her head high. She can't let her confidence wither and die all because of some guy. Even if he is her best friend.

Going through her little purse, Lucy touches up her lips and spritzes some perfume on. She smiles at her reflection for a little confidence booster and strides out of the bathroom. After a couple of steps, she stops in place. She isn't sure what she should even be doing at this moment in time.

Lucy and Natsu both wanted to drink a bit after a long day, but now they're apart. Perhaps things are better this way. Maybe she can find a guy to flirt with for the time being. Now is more of a time than ever for her to be a social butterfly. Or fairy. She does like fairies. Regardless, it's time for her to spread her wings and fly.

She glances around, looking for potential.

However, potential finds her.

The guy has grown out, orange locks that are long and luscious. Blue tinted glasses are in front of his deep eyes. He has a similar build to Natsu and has less of a tan.

The long sleeves of his maroon button-up are rolled back to his elbows. His dark jeans are paired with plain black shoes. A couple of his fingers have rings on them.

"Hi," he greets, standing next to Lucy.

"Hello."

"I couldn't help but notice that you look lost."

"Not lost… Just figuring out what to do."

"Well, if you want, I can show you a good time."

She arches an eyebrow at his choice of words. "Oh, really?"

He realizes what he said. "Er, what I meant was, a good time here. Chatting. Dancing. Playing pool."

"Drinking," Lucy suggests. "We can start with that."

The guy holds out a hand. "I'm Loke."

She shakes his hand. "Lucy."

"Lucy," he says to test her name on his lips. "That's quite the celestial name that you have."

"Thank you."

Then Loke gestures over to the bar. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

The two walk side by side as they head over to the bar. With the dance floor at their backs some yards away, they sit down on two free stools.

They wait for one of the busy bartenders to ask what they want. Lucy knows better than to have some stranger give her a drink. At that rate, she doesn't mind someone she doesn't know buy her a drink. But she'll take the drink straight from the bartender. Better safe than sorry.

"So are you here alone?" Loke asks, striking up a conversation.

"I was here with a friend, but he's probably dancing over yonder," she replies, motioning behind her with a hand.

"Ah, a ladies' man," he muses.

"Something like that." Even though Natsu being a ladies' man makes no sense to her.

One of the male bartenders swings by the two. "What can I get you guys?"

"I'll take another IPA and she'll have…" Loke looks at Lucy, cueing her.

A chalkboard facing them has different drinks and the one written in pink called "Cherry Lemonade" sounds pretty good. "A cherry lemonade please," she says.

"On my tab," Loke adds.

With a nod, the bartender walks away to make their drinks.

Lucy makes a move to get into her purse that is resting on her lap.

"Hey, I'm buying," Loke says.

"This round," she adds.

"Fine, this round." Then he grins. "And maybe the next…"

"We'll see about a second round."

"Ooo, so there's a chance?"

"I guess we'll have to see how the first round goes…"

Truth be told, Lucy is already enjoying herself. Without Natsu. With Loke. She can do this. Maybe by the time they're done hanging out, she'll have a new contact in her phone.

But perhaps fate has other plans for her…

Without any warning, Natsu stops by Lucy's right side and slings his left arm across her shoulders. "Hiya, Luce," he greets warmly. Then he looks at Loke, less of a smile on his face. "Hi."

"Uh, the friend of yours that you mentioned earlier?" Loke questions, connecting the dots.

Natsu shoots him a grin. "I'm her boyfriend."

Lucy thinks that this is unfair. She never interferes when Natsu is openly flirting with girls. So why does he feel the need to step up now? Is he doing this for her sake even though she wants a guy to flirt with her?

Loke seems genuinely surprised. "Boyfriend?"

"He's the friend that I mentioned before," Lucy corrects as she takes a stand. "He's just playing that card in case I don't want the attention. But I do."

A hopefully look comes across Loke's face. "Is that so?" he purrs.

On the other hand, Natsu seems taken aback. "Say what now?"

Lucy removes Natsu's arm from her and lets it drop to his side. She gives Loke her attention. "So what do you want to do after we get our drinks?"

"Drinks?" Natsu echoes.

"We can play pool or dance," Loke suggests.

"Dance?" Natsu questions.

Lucy puts some thought into things. "Hmm, we could play pool while we drink and then dance."

"You can't dance with some stranger," Natsu argues as he looks at her. "Or play pool."

"Everyone starts out as a stranger until you get to know them," Loke points out.

Lucy looks at Natsu. "We were strangers before we met."

"But now we're friends. Best friends. Just the bestest of friends." Natsu might as well be pleading with her due to the tone of his voice. He definitely doesn't want her dancing with anyone.

"I'm a big girl and can handle myself," Lucy says.

"So be a good best friend and don't third wheel," Loke comments.

Natsu shoots him a look for saying that.

"Don't worry about me," Lucy assures Natsu. "Go back to the girls you were with earlier. The blonde seems really into you."

She only hits the nail on the head with that.

Truth be told, Natsu has already forgotten her name. He didn't pay the slightest attention to her friends' names either. That blonde tried being cute and wrote her phone number down on a napkin, but it's already in some trashcan. He has no intentions of seeing her again.

There is only one blonde that matters to Natsu. One with warm brown eyes.

With drinks in hand, Lucy and Loke head to where the pool tables are, leaving Natsu by the bar.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Loke asks, referring to Natsu.

"He'll be fine," Lucy replies. "He's a big boy."

"He'll find someone to occupy his time."

She nods. "Exactly."

"In the meantime, I'm going to kick your sweet lil' ass at pool."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that," Lucy laughs.

He arches an eyebrow. "Really?"

"You'll see how great I am when I wipe the floor with your ass."

Loke cracks up. "Oh, it's officially on now!"

x-X-x

Lucy and Loke are only five minutes into their pool match. It is somewhat hard to just have fun when an ominous force is overwatching the two from the other side of the room. A dark aura is practically radiating off of him.

"Is he going to burn holes through me with his eyes?" Loke questions, his back to Natsu as he lines up his next shot.

"He can try as hard as he wants, but he hasn't mastered laser beam vision," Lucy says.

"Yet," he jokes.

She laughs. "He's too stubborn to quit trying though."

"Or determined." When Loke doesn't sink the striped ball he was aiming for, he groans. "Ugh, it's your turn."

"Watch and learn." Lucy moves around the table until she finds the spot she wants. The shot is simple enough with one angle involved. She leans over the table and lines things up. She sinks it.

"Damn, you're a pro at this," Loke comments.

"Not a pro. Just good."

"So good that I can't even show you how to play."

Lucy starts walking to where she'll take her next shot. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the thing."

She playfully rolls her eyes. "Ah, yes. The thing. The thingy thing." She takes a sip of her drink through the straw. It definitely tastes great, and she might be interested in a second one. Then she sets her drink onto the wooden edge of the table.

Loke joins her on the same side of the table that she is on. "Lean over like you're going to hit."

She listens to him.

Then his left hand goes over her left one while his right one around her right hand. His body presses into hers a bit. "This thing…"

Lucy can admit that no one has done this before to her. If anything, she has done this with Natsu back when she first taught him how to play pool. It took him some time before he got the hang of it.

"Okay, that's it!" Natsu bursts as he strides over to the duo. He is seeing a few shades of green now. More than before when he first saw Lucy with Loke.

Lucy and Loke jump apart, Loke actually taking a few steps away from her. "N-Natsu?" she stutters in surprise, accidentally dropping the stick onto the table.

He stands in between Lucy and Loke as he faces Loke.

"Uh, can I help you–" Loke starts.

"She's my Luce," Natsu growls, tight fists down at his sides. "Hands off."

Lucy's eyes grow wide. She has never seen him this protective over her. Loke might as well be facing off against a dragon guarding his treasure. She can imagine smoke coming out of Natsu's nostrils right now.

"Yours?" Loke questions. "Well, she's your best friend, but not yours."

"I like her," Natsu states, standing up a bit straighter. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I love her. In love with her."

Lucy's mouth drops open. Perhaps the alcohol in his system is talking. Well, more like rearing its head by the way he is acting.

"And if you think that you can snatch away my princess, you're damn wrong," Natsu continues. "I won't give her up without a fight. And I can guarantee that won't win."

Princess? Since when has she been his princess? Besides, rather than being some prince or knight, he acts more like a dragon.

Loke holds up his hands in defense. "I'd rather not fight to the death…"

"I will if that's what it takes," Natsu says, a small threat in his voice.

The resolution that Lucy made in the bathroom is starting to crumble away. Deep down inside, she really doesn't want to give up on her years long crush on her best friend. "Natsu," she says.

Forgetting all about Loke, he immediately turns to face her. "Luce."

She swallows hard. "No, you don't. You can't. You've been flirting with all sorts of girls–"

"To make you jealous," he interrupts, not meaning to be rude.

Time slows down. She blinks. "What?" she whispers.

"I was flirting with them to make you jealous, but you didn't care–"

"I do care. A lot. But if you're happy doing that then why would I stop you?" She put his feelings above her own. That's just how she is. Especially when it comes to her best friend.

His expression softens. "Luce…" Stepping forward to close the gap between them, Natsu gingerly grabs a hold of the sides of her shoulders. "Clearly the advice I got backfired. I'll own up to it later. But right now, I'm coming clean."

She braces herself for what's to come.

"I've had the biggest fucking crush on you for years. Years. And I've been too afraid to tell you. Well, until now." He smiles, a twinkle in his eyes. "Everything's more fun when we're together, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. There's nobody else I want except you."

Her bottom lip starts trembling as her eyes glass over. A tight ball is forming in her throat.

"L-Luce?" He is scared that he said something wrong. Maybe he just ruined things forever between them–

She throws her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly. She sniffles back happy tears.

His arms automatically wrap around her waist. "Luce?"

She pulls her head back to look at him. "Y-you're an idiot. But you're m-my idiot."

Natsu gently presses his forehead against hers. "And you're my weirdo," he says in an endearing tone. About as endearing as one can get when calling the love of their life a weirdo of all things.

Surprising the both of them, Lucy makes the first move by standing on her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his. With her eyes closed, she misses the look on his face and his eyes fluttering shut. His lips are soft.

He runs the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip, causing her to gasp in surprise with parted lips. Natsu takes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside of her warm mouth. She tastes like cherries, and she's more intoxicating than the alcohol he's been drinking.

Likewise, he tastes like cinnamon. And Lucy wants more to get her fix of Natsu. She tangles her fingers in his hair to bring his head even closer to hers. Then she angles her head to make the kissing better.

He reacts by slinking his hands to her hips, fingers digging into her. He is strongly resisting the urge to grab handfuls of her ass that he enjoys looking at. Natsu definitely doesn't want to cross any of her lines, especially since he put her through so much before.

The two finally break apart since they need to refill their lungs with air. Both of their chests are panting, rising up and down.

"Hi," she says breathlessly.

"Hi," he echoes.

"Um, what now?"

"I love you," he blurts without thinking.

She giggles. "I love you, too."

"Like, I really love you."

"I do, too."

Then Natsu rests his forehead against hers like before, taking in the moment. "Hi," he says again.

"Hi," she says back.

"I, uh, think we have some things to talk about."

"I think so, too," Lucy agrees.

x-X-x

With the mission accomplished, Loke has since slipped away unnoticed and makes his way over to the other side of the room. He takes a seat in a booth across from a dark-haired guy who has been watching everything that has been happening. "That took longer than I thought," Loke comments, and takes a swig of his IPA.

Gray Fullbuster has dark locks and dark blue eyes. Along with his fair skin, he has a toned build from keeping in shape. Apart from normally being shirtless, his signature look consists of two pieces because they have sentimental value to him. His girlfriend gifted him a silver sword necklace with a stone set in it while Lucy surprised him with a silver metal bracelet that is worn around his right wrist.

His whole attire is simple enough. He is wearing a plain black tee with a V-neck. His jeans are from a dark material while his boots are black.

He is the older brother Lucy never had until they met. Likewise, he thinks of Lucy as his little sister. Unlike most older brothers, he actually wants Natsu, his best friend, to date Lucy. He knows they will be a good fit for each other, like puzzle pieces.

"About damn time," Gray comments.

"You should have told Lucy to make Natsu jealous from the start," Loke says.

Gray nods in agreement. "I thought she would have cracked first, but I was wrong."

"She seems nice though."

"She is nice. Great." A thought occurs to him. "Maybe that's why…"

Loke seems out of the loop. "Why what?"

"Lucy's nice and was probably being a nice friend to Natsu."

"Even when he was flirting with girls? In front of her?"

"She's been known to put other people's happiness before hers."

Loke whistles. "Wow. That sure is some trait."

"It makes her Lucy."

"Too bad that you didn't try setting her up with me," Loke muses.

Gray shakes his head. "There's no way you can handle her."

"What makes say that?"

"She's stubborn. Beyond belief."

"I'm always up for a good challenge."

"Trust me, Natsu's the only the only one really capable of handling her."

Loke spares a glance their way, finding the duo's lips are still locked together. Then he shakes his head and holds out his glass of IPA. "Cheers."

"Operation 50 Shades of Green was a success," Gray comments, clinking their glasses together.

A/N: Ayyy, I had fun with this work even though I thought it was gonna be way shorter :D I wrote and edited this all in 2 days… Anyways, Lucy's attire is based on what I wear when I go out drinking. But I do loveee wearing my mix matched Chucks instead :P Likewise, what Natsu is wearing is a look a like to see on my fiancé ;)

PS. If things weren't clear enough: Gray told Natsu to make Lucy jealous so Natsu flirted with mostly blondes. Lucy ended up being jealous, but she didn't get in the way of Natsu flirting. So when that plan wasn't working, Gray asked Loke to lend a hand in order to make Natsu jealous… In the end, Team NaLu pulls through. Hella.