Sixth Official Submission 7/6: Tattoos; where one of our lovebirds shares a particular skill set with the other in a rather peculiar fashion.

The laser lights were strobing across the body-filled dancefloor. Electronic covers of popular songs were pumping through the booming speakers and into the humid, crowded club. Lucy, accompanied by her normal crew of girlfriends, strolled through with their painted eyes set on the velvet-roped VIP section. They were regulars in Mira's boyfriend's club, named 'Fairy Tail', so the bouncers were already expecting the sexed-up goddesses. Heads turned as the five of them took their seats on the plush couches, drink menus already in hand as they got comfortable.

"Laxus's friends should be here any minute," Mira cooed, tucking her legs beneath her as she smiled brightly, her silver hair taking on the multicolor spectrum of the light show around them. Juvia immediately looked uncomfortable with the fact that they were going to have to share their section with men they'd never met and fisted her dress as she fidgeted nervously. Cana, due to 'pre-gaming' back at Lucy's, was already well on her way to inebriation. Levy ran her fingers through her wild blue hair, her facial expressions giving away her exasperation. Lucy was fine with sharing as long as the guys weren't complete douchebags. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem likely once they arrived at the pedestal. The ropes parted again for the club's owner and his friends, the five gentlemen sitting down across from the group of women. Mira immediately broke down the invisible wall and relocated to her boyfriend's lap. "Laxus, introduce the boys, huh?"

The blond huffed at his girl's request, acquiescing nonetheless. "Ladies, meet my investors," he groaned. He pointed to each one as he went down the line. "This is Gray," pointing to a raven-haired cutie with a smoldering glare. Juvia even squeaked when he spoke for himself. The next was Bacchus, someone Lucy recognized without fail. He ran the largest brewery in Magnolia and supplied 90% of the alcohol to Laxus's establishment. The largest member of their motley crew was Gajeel, a local Rocker whose band played at the club a couple nights a week. Bringing up the rear was a guy simply introduced as Laxus's cousin Natsu and Lucy could barely keep her eyes off him. He wore a black tank top and jeans but what caught her attention most was a perfectly depicted black and red dragon swirling down his right arm, wrapping around his chiseled muscles.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone had split off into pairs except Lucy and Natsu, leaving the two alone back in VIP. The silence between them was astounding given the atmosphere but Natsu soon ended it by offering to buy her another drink. They went back and forth, buying each other drinks and swapping stories before the pinket grew bored and dragged his new 'friend' to the dancefloor. The song playing was slower than the previous selections, but the bass combined with booze led the two better than they could have done on their own.

Soon their hands were traveling over each other, gripping at whatever they could reach in order to pull the other in closer. The sound waves coursed through them, eliminating the need for speech. They danced together song after song, only resting when Lucy grew thirsty and Natsu refused to let her go on her own.

Settling back in the VIP area with their friends, they saw that they weren't the only ones who had found company. Gray and Juvia were playing coy, but the attraction was obvious. Levy and Gajeel were cuddling on the couch engaged in an argument on whether audiobooks were better or 'an embarrassment'. Bacchus and Cana? Yeah, they didn't even last an hour before they took off for Cana's place right down the street.

Lucy reached over to grab her drink and was shocked by the warm, rough sensation of Natsu's fingers sliding over her now exposed skin. Judging by the area, she could only assume he was tracing the black outlined stars that littered her ribcage. A friend had started her design but never finished, leaving them nothing but black marks on her pale skin.

"I like your ink," Natsu hummed, his fingers still tracing the familiar patterns. "If you ever want more, let me know. I wouldn't even charge you shop minimum."

That's when the name hit her. Straightening up, Lucy locked eyes with him, chocolate brown staring into emerald orbs. "Wait… you're not, Natsu Dragneel are you?" No way he was the most famous tattoo artist in town.

The handsome pinket grinned, his pointed canines drawing in her attention. "In the flesh," he remarked teasingly, moving closer in order to lessen the gap between them. "What do you say, hm? Wanna wear my next project?"

A nod was all it took before Natsu grabbed her by the hand, dragging her away from the rest of their group. They wove their way through the crowd, making their way to the elevator to Laxus's private office. "I was working on Laxus earlier," he explained, his voice gruff. "So my kit is still there and the room is still set up perfectly."

Lucy's heart was racing. Not only was she getting a tattoo in a nightclub from a stranger, something that was definitely not her, but she was getting inked by the Natsu Dragneel. The dinging of the elevator bell brought her back to Earthland and she allowed him to drag her inside.

After a rather passionate make-out session, the two arrived at the top floor and Natsu's demeanor quickly changed. He instructed her to stand by a leather chair as he took his knife from the small of his back and cut a piece of plastic from a box. He draped it over the chair and politely asked her to sit down. Lucy watched as he grabbed a red leather case from the desk and set up all his tools on top of more plastic wrap. She wondered if he could hear her heart as it tried to escape her chest because he chuckled right as her pulse spiked.

"I promise I don't do this all the time," he remarked teasingly, seating himself atop a rolling stool and wheeling up to her side. He had everything situated perfectly and was ready to go before he gloved up, pulling on black latex-free gloves and snapping them playfully. Without breaking their staring match, he carded his fingers through her honey hair before kissing her softly. "What do you want?"

Go big or go home right?

"Surprise me," Lucy replied, her voice more meek than usual. It was like she had fallen under some sort of spell, and the alcohol played no part. In fact, she felt completely sober except for the effect Natsu had on her. Could he be considered a drug himself?

Cracking his knuckles, Natsu kissed her again before asking her to pick her shirt up, brushing his fingers against her tattoo. "Mind if I add on?" he questioned, laying eyes on the entirety of her art. There were 12 stars in total seemingly floating atop her milky ribcage. Lucy agreed and the artist sensed the edge in her movements.

Putting down the gun, Natsu took his time and kissed every star, feeling the anxiety leave Lucy's body with every caress of his lips. After his adoration, he put on some rock music in the background and set to work. After an hour or so of conversation, laughter, and Lucy's various painful outbursts, the piece was finished and he immediately cleaned up his canvas and his tools. He gently wrapped her entire torso in plastic wrap before picking her up off the chair and bringing her to a nearby mirror on the back of Laxus's door.

When Lucy stood on her own two feet and had positioned herself appropriately, she had to fight tears from streaking her cheeks. Where a few measly stars once stood, there was now an entire animated galaxy. Swirls of color combined to form the emptiness of space, but he incorporated the stars, making them stand out against the cartoon creations. It was more beautiful than anything she could have ever imagined on her own.

The only way Lucy could think of to properly thank him was to throw herself onto him, latching her lips onto his. She kissed him with a fervor she hadn't had before, which he attributed to the endorphin high. "T-thank you," she breathed against his lips. "It's gorgeous."

Natsu smiled, dipping his head down to kiss her again. "Gorgeous ink for a gorgeous girl," he quipped, causing the both of them to laugh. He brought his fist up and glanced at his watch, noting that it was pushing 2:00am.

"Want to catch breakfast?" he propositioned, Lucy immediately doing mental math.

"No one will be serving breakfast for hours…" she reminded, trying to catch whatever hints he was throwing.

Flicking her forehead softly, Natsu chuckled. "There's a couple things we can do to kill time," he offered with a salacious wink. "And I happen to know that the best breakfast in town is served in the diner below my apartment. Think you can make it a few more hours?"

Pulling herself away and pulling her shirt back down, Lucy nodded toward the elevator doors, her smile beaming. "I think you'll find plenty of ways to keep me up."