A Nalu One-Shot: Jealously
By: xSteleAliniax
Lucy Heartfilia sat at the bar with a fuming black cloud around her, refusing to look over at her idiotic best friend, Natsu, who was currently entertaining the newest potential member of Fairy Tail, Natalia -a prissy blonde bimbo with enough cleavage to hold an entire continent.
Lucy wasn't jealous. Not at all. She didn't even notice the petite blonde leaning closer to Natsu. She didn't notice how her long-lashed eyes, thick with mascara and dark with eye shadow, narrowed on his seductively. She didn't notice the way her blood red lips parted just a fraction as she eagerly took in what he was saying to her, or the brilliant white teeth that gleamed behind them. She didn't even notice the hand that Natalia had clamped on his knee, as if to say, "MINE." And she definitely didn't notice her large bust that she kept pushing out toward him, or the lack of fabric that covered them.
No. Lucy Heartfilia wasn't jealous in the slightest.
Lucy growled and crumpled a napkin in a tight fist, enraged for reasons she didn't yet fully understand, and definitely wasn't ready to admit to.
"Oh, my." Mira looked over at her in concern. "What's the matter, Lucy?"
"Nothing." She snapped irritably. She was too angry to see the hurt in Mira's eyes. She wasn't jealous. That was too cliché to even consider! To be jealous of her best friend was just ridiculous! So what if the newbie was draping herself all over HER Natsu, and so what if he was letting her? Lucy didn't care.
"That's a scary face," Gray muttered, sitting down next to her. "What's gotten into you, Lucy?"
"Nothing, okay?!" She turned a murderous glare his way. He flinched back.
"Uh, okay. I was just-trying to help." He stammered out. Geez. When did she start acting like ERZA?
Lucy blew out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Gray. I'm just..."
"Jealous?" He guessed, looking over to where Natsu was laughing with Natalia. Or whatever her name was, Lucy didn't even know. Nope. She didn't even hear the way her dragon slayer said the name, like a soft caress.
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" She shouted, much too loudly. Several pairs of eyes turned her way, including Natsu and Natalia. She stiffened when his dark green eyes found hers, then went bright red in the face.
She turned away from him with a growl and booked it out of the guild hall.
Geez, I'm such a huge cliché! What's wrong with me?! I can't be jealous! It's just too ridiculous to even fathom! Someone give me a rewrite!
Lucy hurried from the guild hall. She had seen enough of Natsu and his new girlfriend. She didn't need to see what would happen next. Images of Natsu's lips on the new blonde's made red sparks form in her vision, and she curled her hands into tight fists. She let out a furious cry of rage as she ran down the streets toward her apartment.
A few passersby quickly darted out of her path as she tore through town, staying away from her dark rage.
"What's with her?" Someone muttered.
"Who knows, man. Women are so complicated."
"That's a scary look she's got in her eyes."
"Maybe she caught her boyfriend cheating." A chuckle.
Lucy growled and moved into a run. She couldn't get away from that idiot fast enough. When she finally reached her door, now panting and sweating slightly from the intense run, she had to stop to take a breath before she could go inside. She was shaking with both exertion and rage, so her hand couldn't find the keyhole. She kept jabbing it into the wood of the door instead.
"Dammit!" She slammed a fist into the door, as if all of this were the fault of the wood, and not her churning jealousy.
Will you stop trying to make me sound jealous?! Whoever is writing this piece of crap better get their damn story straight! I AM NOT JEALOUS!
Finally she got the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door, pushing it open so hard it slammed against the opposite wall with a cracking sound. She stepped inside and slammed it shut, locking it up so no idiots could get inside.
"Eugh!" She growled again, this time using her head to slam against the already beat up door. "I hate him!"
"Hate who?" Came an annoyingly familiar voice. She spun around, fists clenched, eyes full of boiling rage-but not jealousy.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" She exclaimed loudly, pointing a shaky finger in his direction. He sat in her fluffy pink chair, looking perfectly calm, like he'd been waiting there all day. But-she had left the guild before him. So how the hell has he gotten there before she did?!
"You ran off so fast I thought something might be wrong." He said with a shrug.
"Nothing's wrong!" She yelled. He raised an eyebrow, a gesture she found to be sexy and-WAIT.
NO EFFING WAY WOULD I EVER THINK THAT! REWRITE THAT CRAP NOW!
[Rewind]
He raised an eyebrow, a gesture she found to be rather annoying. She glared at him, feeling hot from all the anger boiling up inside of her. She was like a volcano about to erupt.
"Come on, Luce," Natsu's face fell slightly, like her behavior was hurting him. "You know you can tell me." She opened her mouth to snap at him, but nothing came to mind so she snapped it shut and turned away. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to control her ragged breathing.
Her pink chair squeaked as Natsu got up. His black sandals clacked against her hardwood floors, slowly, as he came closer and closer to her. She stiffened, waiting.
"Lucy,"
God, his voice is so throaty! Stop making me imagine these things in my head!
"What's wrong?"
"You're an idiot!" She exclaimed, still refusing to look at him. "That's what's wrong!" He sighed heavily.
"I don't know what I did to piss you off so much, but if you'd just tell-"
"Shut up!" She cut him off, whirling around and jabbing a finger hard into his chest. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "The fact that you have no freaking clue why I'm so angry, is precisely WHY I'm angry!"
Natsu blinked at her in confusion.
"What kind of sense does that make?" He finally asked. She groaned loudly and balled her hands into fists again.
"It makes perfect sense! You're just too dense to see it!" She whacked him hard in the chest with her fist, but since he had such taut muscles, her attacks did little. Actually, he barely felt them at all.
What?! Seriously?! I'm that weak?!
"Lucy, stop it." He seized control of her flying fists and held them against his chest to keep them at bay. Lucy's whole body stilled at once. Her heart raced exponentially faster as the blazing heat of his bare chest burned her skin. "What's your deal? You're being such a weirdo!"
"I'm not a weirdo!" She exclaimed in offense.
"Well, you're acting like a weirdo!" He fired back.
"Ugh!" She gave him a shove, but since her hands were still pinned between them, her efforts were useless. "Natsu, let me go! Leave me alone!"
"Why are you so angry today?" He asked, ignoring her requests to let her go. He was frowning down at her with narrowed eyes, like he was trying to figure her out. But he was just too damned stupid to know why she would be mad!
"Why don't you go by to the guild and show Natalia around some more?" Her voice dripped with venom. Natsu's frown grew even more confused. He cocked his head to the side, as if that would somehow help him to understand her.
"Why would I do that?" He asked. "I'm sure she's already left." That brought Lucy up short.
"What do you mean she's already left? Isn't she going to join the guild?"
Natsu laughed. "Is that what you're worried about?" She glared at him and he chuckled. "She already belongs to Blue Pegasus. She was just delivering some information to Gramps."
"What kind of information?" She asked suspiciously. She didn't doubt that the beauty belonged to Blue Pegasus, that guild was full of "pretty people," but she didn't know why they would send one of their members to Fairy Tail with good intentions.
"They have new information about Zeref," Natsu said. "They sent Natalia down to let Gramps know what they've heard."
"Then why was she draping herself all over you?" Lucy snapped, still seething with anger. No, not anger. She wasn't angry. That would imply that she was indeed jealous. And she absolutely was not!
"What are you talkin' about, Luce?" He still looked confused. He still didn't know why she was so mad, even though it was perfectly obvious. Maybe Gray was right, maybe Natsu really did have Flame for Brains...
"Never mind!" She gave a hard shove, and this time he let her go. She stalked across the room toward her kitchen and tossed her keys onto the counter before banging her head into the wall by the fridge and letting out a loud groan. She couldn't help it, Natsu was just so dense!
"Lucy," Natsu followed behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She shook him off, sending him a seething glare over her shoulder. He held his hands up in defense. "H-Hey, now! What's your problem?"
"You are!" She kept her back to him. She didn't want to look at his traitorous face. Jealousy seethed within her-
HEY! I AM NOT JEALOUS!
Ehem, ANGER seethed within her, turning her face a furious shade of red.
Natsu gripped the top of her arm and spun her around, pinning her against the wall so she couldn't move away. His gaze was equally puzzled and frustrated. Wait, why was HE frustrated?!
"Will you stop being such a weirdo and just TELL me what's wrong?" He held her by the tops of her arms, face inches from hers. And because she was so NOT into her best friend romantically, her eyes did NOT shift down to his lips. Nope. Her eyes stayed locked on his. She didn't notice the blazing heat that burned her skin from where he touched her. She didn't notice that there was barely any space between them, three inches, maybe less. She wasn't counting.
"Nothing's wrong." She said in a low, defeated tone. Her anger no longer seemed important. She was too tired to be angry.
"Your heart is racing." He said, frowning at her. He leaned closer and sniffed her face. What the hell? "Have you been crying, Luce?"
"Eh?" She gave a start of surprise. Could he SMELL her tears? That was... Weird. "No! I wasn't crying, idiot!" Natsu sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
"Look, Lucy," he began, his tone suggesting that SHE was the one being difficult. "If there's something wrong, you need to just tell me. I'm your best friend! But you've been acting so weird lately."
Her mouth fell open. She guessed she HAD been acting a little strangely. She was frustrated that she had all these random FEELINGS that she didn't know what to do with. Feelings for her best friend. But she didn't think Natsu 'Flame Brain' Dragneel had noticed.
"You've been avoiding me." He continued when she said nothing. "And when I asked Gray and Gajeel why you were being such a weirdo, they just laughed at me!" He rolled his green eyes. Lucy blinked up at him, so NOT staring at his full lips.
"I-I'm not avoiding you." She said, voice barely a whisper. His proximity was confusing her mind! His bare chest was all but pressed against hers. His large hands still gripped the tops of her arms. His breath blew against her face, smelling strangely spicy, like cinnamon. His green eyes stared into hers intensely, waiting for her to say something.
Oh, to hell with it.
She leaned forward and closed the inch of space between them, pressing her lips against his. He responded immediately, kissing her back and pushing her further into the wall, his chest completely pressed against hers now. Fire spread through her as his lips moved with hers, and when she licked his bottom lip, he parted them, allowing her to slip her tongue inside. His hands tightened on her arms, to the point where it was only just not painful. His tongue danced with hers, and she heard herself moan in response. Hot flames licked at her skin, igniting a spark within her that she hadn't even known was there.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathing heavily, they just stared at each other for a moment, each processing what had just happened. Had she just made a grave mistake in kissing him like that? He had kissed her back, but maybe that was more out of instinct than anything else. Surely he didn't have feelings for her...
"I..." She tried to say something, to apologize maybe, but the words wouldn't come. She was afraid to say anything. What if he rejected her now?
"That was some kiss," he said at last. After a minute, she snorted a laugh.
"Yeah, it was." She shifted uncomfortably. "Um... So, you're not mad?" She dared a peek up at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"Mad? That a beautiful girl just kissed me?" He scoffed. "Psh! As if."
"You kissed me back." She pointed out, in case he hadn't noticed.
"Well, yeah!" He said, like that was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because-Because we're best friends!" She exclaimed. "Because we're teammates, and guild mates, and-" He silenced her with another kiss.
"So what?" He grinned crookedly. Her cheeks flushed pink. "So, are you done now?" He asked. She frowned.
"Done... With what?"
"Done being a jealous weirdo, duh!" He rolled his eyes. She gaped.
"What?! Who said I was jealous?!" She exclaimed, feeling her pulse quicken. Crap! If it was so obvious that even dense NATSU could tell, than she was seriously going to die.
"Mira told me." He grinned. "When you ran out of the guild earlier I asked her what was up with you. She said you were probably jealous and that I'd better come right over. But she didn't tell me why you were jealous or how to make you not jealous, so I just came over and hoped that you would tell me. But then you had to go throwing yourself at me, and kissing me and-"
"SHUT UP!" She kicked him in the shin, which effectively made him stop talking and stagger backward. He yelped in pain. "Idiot! I am not jealous!"
"Okay, okay." He chuckled at her stormy expression, and her cheeks which only got redder by the minute. When he could finally stand again, he gave her a crooked grin. "Maybe I'm the one who's jealous then."
"Eh-What?" Natsu jealous? Did he even know what that word meant? He shrugged.
"Well, you hang out with Loke a lot. And I've heard stories about you and that Blue Pegasus pretty boy." His eyes caught hers, and the look in them sent a shiver down her spine. He wasn't joking. Natsu... Was jealous. Of HER. She almost died laughing from both relief and from the fact that this was NATSU. "What's with the face?" He asked suspiciously. She had been holding back a laugh, but couldn't hold back the grin splitting her face.
"Oh, nothing." She started walking back toward her door. "Let's go back to the guid, shall we?" She turned a wink his way. He raised an eyebrow in return.
"Whatever you say, Jelly." He winked back. She growled.
"You're the one who's jelly!" She stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled.
"Fine, but you're the weirdo." He stuck out his tongue back at her, then made a ridiculous face that her cackling.
"You're a dork."
"And you're a dork who laughed at a dork. That's obviously worse." He chuckled at himself. Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed.
"That doesn't even make sense." She shook her head in exhasperation but the huge smile never left her lips, even as the two walked back to the guild together, staying close but not touching. As they walked, Lucy tried to process all of her feelings. She couldn't deny it any longer. She liked her best friend. She was a jealous cliche. And she didn't care.
A/N: Inspiration for this came from a story by Ice of the Kitsune's Fire called "It's So Been Done Before," which is way more clever and witty than mine, so you should totally check that out. Because apparently a jealous Lucy is so totally cliche, so I had to play off of that haha. Anyway, thank you for reading! Let me know what you all thought! I tried to do something a little different with this one (hence the random commentary from Lucy XD), but I thought it turned out alright. Thank you for your support!