Who's ready to Smash?!

Um. Smash Bros.. I'm talking about Smash Bros.

Back a week later as promised ... Kind of! I had to post this from my phone. I hope I did it rightlel

Enjoy the festivities~

The moment Natsu mentioned getting first place, Lucy's initial nervousness and shock was overpowered by the competitive spirit that always awakened when this particular tournament was involved. She wasn't sure how skilled he actually was in Smash (they'd never played it on the channel before), but what she did know was there was no way her title would be taken today. She had a manga collection to win.

When it came to this, Lucy couldn't care less who you were. She was going to crush this fool... and not in the way she had been doing so since she discovered his channel.

His brows shot up into his bangs, seemingly taken aback by her sudden confidence and she had to struggle to keep from sinking back into herself. Natsu gained his bearings fairly quickly though, smirk taking over his features after the initial unexpectedness of her response. "You sure about that?"

"Oh I am," she replied back right away, just as casually. "There's no way you're beating me."

"Hmm," he looked up in feigned contemplation, bringing his hands behind his head. This was a side of her he wanted to see more of. Lucy nearly pinched herself to keep her eyes from drifting to his arms. Curse him for wearing short sleeves.

"Just gonna have to see about that," Natsu retorted after a short moment. "Because I feel the same way."

She'd had interactions like this before. An overconfident individual would approach her and proudly announce that they would be taking her spot at the top, only to be disappointed when they lost with little effort on her part. But none of them had ever sounded as sure of themselves as her not-so secret YouTube crush did right now. Natsu seriously thought he was going to win, huh.

This fact, rather than intimidate her, only made her more determined to win. She was going to enjoy seeing the look on his handsome face when she knocked him out of the arena and thoroughly snuffed out his pride.

"Well good luck, Natsu," a sliver of her shyness crept back in at the use of his name, but her small smile was anything but timid.

"You too, Lucy," he said easily back, holding out a hand.

Her smile faltered and she flushed when her name fell from his lips, shifting her eyes to his hand for a brief moment before taking it into her own. She ignored the spark she felt when their hands met.

Oh my god I kissed him oh my god oh my godohmygodohmy-

Anxious Lucy instantly made a reappearance and her heart began to thump wildly against her chest at the memory. She quickly took her hand from his after shaking it once, bringing her own together to wring them nervously.

"Natsu!"

Both parties turned at the sound of Cana calling to her pink-haired friend with an enthusiastic wave. Her large grin grew, shifting slightly more into sly smirk territory when she noticed the blonde beside him. "And Lucy! Hey~!"

She and two others, who Lucy instantly recognized as Wendy Marvell and Gray Fullbuster, made their way toward the two.

"Oh my god," she breathed. Wow. Three Fairy Tail members in her presence. And she didn't look like a hungover train wreck this time!

How many years has she been waiting for this?!

"Woah! You're Celestial," Gray said with raised brows and a smile. "It's so cool to meet you! I'm a fan of your videos!"

"Me too!" Wendy followed, "Wasn't expecting to see you here!"

Lucy gave them a small nervous laugh, trying to seem as calm as possible while on the inside she was squealing in excitement at meeting more members. And they watched her! They liked her! "Thank you. I really like your channel too," she squeaked out.

"Lucy's competing!" Natsu piped from her side.

"Really? That's awesome," Gray grinned at the blonde. "Looks like we're rivals then."

She gave him a soft smile in return, forcefully suppressing her inner fangirl. "Good luck."

"We'll be cheering you all on!" Cana waved again before making her way with Wendy to the spectator seats.

"Let's talk later Lucy!" Wendy called as they walked off.

As if on cue, the lights suddenly went dim as the video game club president stood from their seat to stand in front of all of the participants and spectators. The three participants exchanged brief looks before quickly moving to find a seat with the others. Natsu took the seat beside Lucy, and she found herself wondering how she was going to be able to focus on anything with him being so close to her.

In real life D.

Real life D where she could actually reach out and touch him if she wanted.

Real life D in like, super 3D.

Real life super 3DD-

Anyway.

She was relieved nothing seemed weird with him after the other night. She hoped the universe was actually on her side for once and he had forgotten all about it.

Her cheeks flushed all over again, remembering how the guy she had been internet crushing on for years had kissed her. She tried and failed to push away the memory of how she felt wrapped in his toned arms, how surprisingly soft his lips were on hers, the firm grip on her hips when the kiss had begun to escalate, how he smelled like a warm, inviting campfire… She barely held herself back from squealing giddily like a teenage school girl.

Jeez, get a hold of yourself, Lucy. But it was so hard to not think about when he was sitting right next to her!

"Get ready to get your ass kicked, flamebrain," Lucy suddenly heard Gray snicker from the seat beside Natsu, thankfully bringing her away from her inner strife.

"Keep talking, you're just gonna embarrass yourself," Natsu waved him off with a chuckle of his own.

They bickered for a bit, and Lucy couldn't help but feel excited to able to witness it first hand, until the president cleared his throat into the mic and effectively ended all previous conversations.

"First of all I'd like to thank you all for coming! My name is Max and I'm the president of the Video Game Club," The short brunette man said into the mic, voice booming into all corners of the large space. "We wouldn't be able to do this every semester without you all!"

The audience exploded into cheers before going quiet again, eager for the competition to start.

"I want to get this going as soon as possible, so I'll just explain how this is gonna work and we can get right into it," Max began. "We've got a good amount of participants tonight, and they'll be fighting 1v1 on their way to the top. Each match will have three rounds, and whoever wins the most rounds will get to move forward in the tournament."

At the end of his last sentence, a chart appeared on the long screen behind him, with all their names written in boxes at the bottom, in pairs. Lucy immediately scanned the list, looking for her name. She secretly hoped she got to fight Natsu in the very first round. She would love to see the look of defeat on his face when he lost in the very beginning.

Unfortunately her name ended up being nowhere near his, how disheartening.

No matter, she could be patient.

"Before we get this started, I'd like to remind everyone that there is someone that still has yet to be defeated since she started attending HU, and naturally she is competing one again this semester to defend her title," he grinned. "Let's hear it for Lucy Heartfilia!"

The crowd erupted into cheers again, but at the moment Lucy only cared to see one person's reaction. With a smirk she snuck a glance of the man beside her, only for it to drop when she saw he still held the same confident demeanor as before. Did he seriously still think he could beat her?!

"Woah! Sick, Lucy!" Gray called from his seat.

"T-thanks!"

"Well now I feel kinda bad," Natsu said smoothly, looking over to the blonde beside him. "I'm stealing your title this year."

Her brown eyes instantly shifted to shoot Natsu a bored look, charged ever so slightly with fury. "It'll be fun watching you try."

Gray eyed the exchange with surprised interest, the tiniest of smirks on his face as he whistled lowly and returned his attention to the club president.

"And now, without further ado, let the games begin!"

The beginning matches of the tournament ended as expected, with Lucy, Natsu and Gray making quick work of defeating their opponents in all three rounds. She paid special attention to Natsu's match, getting a read on his skill level and techniques. She could admit that the guy was pretty good, but there was also the fact that his opponent was quite obviously not a very experienced player. He never made proper use of his shield and tended to resort to intense aimless button mashing when he was in a pinch. Both of those tended to be common mistakes in new players and it was no surprise he was bested by Natsu.

Lucy's opponent had been more experienced, but his skill just simply could not be matched with hers. Gray had struggled a little more than the two others, though he did end up coming out on top fairly quickly in the end. After all the matches had ended, the participants were given a break as the chart was updated.

"Looks like we're all moving on," Gray said as they returned their previous seats. "This is fun!"

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu agreed.

"Hey!"

All three of their heads turned to a male voice coming from behind them. The club president, Max, was approaching them with a wide grin, smartphone in hand. Slightly bewildered looks were exchanged as he came up to them, looking like he'd just seen a famous person.

Oh wait.

"I'm a big fan of your channel!"

Right. In all the excitement Lucy had nearly forgotten just how popular Fairy Tail was. Smiling widely at the two YouTubers beside her, the guy was practically jumping for joy when he finally reached them.

"Really? That's so awesome," Natsu gave a matching white smile in return.

"It's so cool to see you guys here! Can I get a picture?" The president lifted his phone, frantically swiping until he found the camera app.

"Oh wow," Gray seemed a little taken aback at the request. "Of course!"

Natsu chucked and muttered something about being nobody special as he and Gray moved to stand on either side of the excited fan, who looked so happy he could burst on the spot.

"Uh," Lucy eyed the way he was taking the picture, selfie style with his arm stretched out as far as he could. "I could take the picture if you want," she offered with a shy smile.

Max's eyes shifted to the blonde, impossibly wide grin growing even bigger. "Really!? Thanks a lot!"

"No problem," she giggled, taking the phone from his hands and turning it to the side for a landscape shot. Natsu and Gray stood on either side of Max, all three of them giving wide grins and funny poses when the flash went off. She took a couple more before handing the phone back to the president.

"Thanks!" He grinned appreciatively. "Good luck in the tournament, guys!" He turned to the Fairy Tail members before skipping off. "Good luck trying to beat this one. Lucy's one of the best players I know!"

"I'll try my best," Natsu said, jade eyes locking onto the undefeated champion.

Defiant confidence washed over her once more, and she gave him a bored smile before turning to walk back to her seat until the matches started again. Her demeanor almost crumbled completely when she felt his gaze on her as she passed him and walked off.

"Uh," Gray watched the interaction with eyebrows raised and a small smile. "What's going on with you and Lucy?"

"Just a little friendly competition," Natsu replied simply before turning to follow the girl that was enthralling him more with every passing moment back to their seats.

The tournament had resumed after a couple minutes, the three of them making short, fun conversation as they waited, though Lucy had barely talked. She was pleasantly surprised to find out she'd be going against Gray this time around. While it wasn't Natsu, she beamed at the opportunity to go against a Fairy Tail member, and she was excited to get things going. She had watched his previous match as well, and he seemed to be significantly better than her previous opponent, so it was no wonder he had ended up moving on.

It took slightly longer for these matches to end, with the more experienced players stepping up to the plate and going against each other. She had watched Natsu's match again, and was able to get more of a read on his ability as she watched him go against a more skilled opponent. She was pleased to see that he had won in the end once again, meaning her chances of crushing him had risen. She had to defeat Gray first, though. She knew that both men were avid fans of video games, so she certainly expected to be met with a challenge when it was time to face him.

"Ready to go, Lucy?" Gray looked towards the blonde from their seats when it was their turn to play next. "I know you're the undefeated champion, but I like to think I have a chance," he added, grinning mischievously.

"Let's do this," Lucy said with a grin, the two of them standing when they named were called to come up.

"Good luck, Lucy!" Natsu called out genuinely to her, ignoring Gray's "What about me?" as he smiled brightly and gave her a thumbs up.

She nearly tripped on her own feet. "T-thanks," she murmured nervously before shifting her focus to her next goal.

It was time for the next round.

Gray was proving to be a pretty capable opponent.

The match had started in her favor, Lucy had won the first round with a trivial amount of difficulty. Gray was definitely better the previous guy, but in the end it seemed Lucy's skill was still too great compared to his own, and in the end she defeated him.

And then the next round started.

It was as if a switch was flipped within him, and Lucy found she was having much more difficulty gaining the upper hand on him in the second round. She had a feeling he had been gauging her tactics and habits in the first round, and now he knew what to look out for. She ended up having to put her entire focus onto the game, realizing she was going to have to really put all her skills out there if she was gonna beat this guy. She hadn't been trying to underestimate him, but at this point she was so used to holding back she had begun to do it without even realizing what she was doing.

She ended up winning the second round, but it had been close.

Too close.

"Damn!" She heard Gray cry out when she knocked his character out of the arena with a swift press of the "A" button, a big sigh of relief escaping her when she finally was able to get close enough to finish the job and "Game!" appeared on the screen, signalling the end of the round.

"And the winner is Lucy!"

She loosened her grip on the controller when she realized how tight she had been gripping it, one thought entering her mind and drowning out the cheering of the crowd as she stood from the seat.

Natsu was gonna be tough, she admitted for the first time.

"Holy crap! You're a beast, Lucy," Gray held out a hand and she took it with a grin. "Kick Natsu's ass for me, alright?"

"Thank you! And I intend to," Lucy stated easily.

Due to his loss, Gray had to leave the section of the hall meant for the participants to go sit with the spectators. She wished she could be there to see Juvia's face when he went up there, knowing Cana and Wendy would definitely be with them and that's who he'd be looking for.

Aand now all she had to do was survive sitting alone with Natsu for the rest of the tournament.

Said pinkette looked absolutely amazed when she returned to her seat. "That was awesome!"

"T-thanks," she smiled timidly in response, suddenly nervous and pulling her sleeves over her hands as she sat. Natsu just complimented me!

The level of fangirl had her cringing at herself.

"Oh my God!"

She turned curiously to the suddenly unexpected voice coming from in front of her. A redhead with pigtails waved excitedly in greeting as she sat in the seat directly below her, her knees facing the back. Lucy recognized her as one of the more skilled contestants in the tournament. "Finally! I've been looking for you this whole time!"

The two YouTubers exchanged confused looks.

She giggled before continuing. "I'm Chelia. I love your channel!"

A fan! "Oh! Really?! Oh my god!" Lucy stood and grinned widely, holding out her arms to embrace the girl in front of her, Chelia. She eagerly returned the hug with a squeal.

"Can I get a picture?!" Chelia took out her phone and snapped a photo with Lucy, taking three more before putting the device away.

The two sat back down and Natsu raised amused brows at the blondes enthusiasm. It was the most animated he'd seen her since she got here. Chelia glanced at him briefly, turning back to say something to Lucy before doing a double take.

"Hey, I know you! You're Natsu! Wow! I had a feeling it was you when I saw your name on the board and stuff, but I wasn't sure... " She nearly jumped from her chair again. "I love Fairy Tail!"

Natsu grinned widely at the girl. "Awesome! Nice to meet ya!"

"Wait, oh my god," She glanced between the two YouTubers, her own smile growing with every turn of her head. "I knew it!" Without elaborating she whipped out her phone swiftly and began furiously typing. Natsu and Lucy shared another look, but before either could ask any questions the redhead was shoving her phone back into the pocket of her black jeans and speaking again.

"I had a feeling you two were dating! You look so cute together!"

Lucy put all lighthouses in the world to shame with how red her entire face had glowed.

"D-d-d-d-dating?" She stammered incredulously, her mind going back to that night without her permission.

"Dating?" Natsu questioned with honest curiosity. After a moment it seemed he was able to put the pieces together with an amused laugh. "Oh, we're not dating."

Chelia's grin instantly dropped. "Oh. Awww..." she murmured dejectedly under her breath. "My mistake," she said with an embarrassed laugh.

"No worries!" Natsu looked over at Lucy who was currently trying her hardest to calm down and get rid of the ever so prominent blush on her face. He observed her with slight interest for a second before turning back to face the fan, now pouting slightly... well, until she caught a glimpse of Lucy's flustered state.

A knowing look suddenly washed over her after a moment, before it was quickly wiped away. "Okay well, enjoy the rest of the tournament! I just really wanted to say hi! I'll leave you two alone now," the smile was back on Chelia's face, slightly more sly this time before she dashed away. "Looking forward to facing you in the tournament!"

"She's fun," Natsu chuckled beside Lucy when the girl has disappeared.

"Heh… heh," Lucy let out another nervous chuckle.

It was now time for the tournament to resume.

After some difficulty, Natsu had finally managed to coax some small talk out of the nervous blonde YouTuber, even getting a small giggle out of her at a joke he had told. Lucy seemed to be really nervous around him and only him, and that was kind of disheartening. Did she know? About the night before?

He chose to believe she didn't, and was probably just a little shy around around people with oddly colored hair.

Yeah.

He'd managed to push whole kiss thing aside for the sake of trying to start anew with her, but now that it had crossed his mind once more he couldn't quite get the memory out of his head. She had been so forward then, it was hard to believe this was the same person he had danced with the other night.

Thankfully the club president guy had begun announcing again when Natsu's thoughts were beginning to drift to how she felt pressed against him as her smooth, plump lips explored his.

"Everyone find your seats! The tournament will continue now! From now on there will be no more breaks, as we are approaching the end, folks!"

There were only four remaining participants, including Natsu and Lucy.

Lucy couldn't help but silently hope Natsu won his match against Chelia. She was a sweet girl, but this way she could personally make him see that his pride was going to get him nowhere, and her winning was the only possible conclusion that could come from this. She was aware she herself was starting to sound a little cocky, but she couldn't help herself.

He started it.

The whole duration of the tournament so far consisted of her constantly alternating desires between hiding from him and crushing him flat under her feet, but now she was beginning to slowly warm up to him. Them being alone had actually given them the opportunity for them to talk one-on-one, though Lucy had been ready to hide in the bathroom for the remainder of the whole tournament to avoid embarrassing herself. But she quickly learned that Natsu was a talkative person, and managed to fill in the space in conversations for the both of them with small remarks, light conversation, and funny jokes. He was being so... normal, and it was starting to feel weird for her to stay an anxious mess. While she was still a nervous wreck because this was freaking Natsu Dragneel, she had begun to open up to him a little more, giving small replies to the best of her ability and sitting up straighter in her seat, rather than hunched over in a subconscious attempt to crawl into a ball and hide. It lightened her heart to know that her idol and internet crush was so friendly and likeable in real life, and she felt they may have even been friends if she had met him as a stranger at school or something.

The sound of the president brought her out of her thoughts and back into the lecture hall. "Alright, first up we have Natsu and Chelia!"

"See you in the final round, Lucy," he grinned at the blonde beside him, earning a small blush.

"So confident," Lucy gave a small teasing smile as he stood. She thought she saw his gaze linger on her for an extra beat before walking off, but decided it to be a trick of the light.

It was a trick of the light, okay? No need for her to go into crazed fangirl mode for the nth time that night.

Chelia met him up front and took her seat and controller, turning around and giving an excited wave to Lucy before shaking Natsu's hand and bringing her focus to the match. She seemed like a really nice, sweet girl. It was a shame she was caught in the middle of this little competition the two YouTubers had managed to stir up.

"Fight!" They had chosen their characters, and the game sound echoed throughout the whole hall. The two opponents were placed into the arena and the first round had begun.

Chelia's ability was truly nothing to sneeze at. As soon as it started she seemed to put Natsu on the defensive in a flurry of speed and ranged attacks, fully using her chosen fighter's strengths to her advantage. He barely had enough time do anything but block, and for moment Lucy thought he had been officially outmatched.

How disappointing.

His damage percentage was increasing slow but steadily, while Chelias would only rise when he finally managed to get a hit on her every so often. But he wasn't getting hits in quick enough, and the redhead began to quickly gain the upperhand when his damage had reached 90%.

Then the tables were devastatingly flipped.

It seemed to Lucy that Natsu had a very similar strategy to Gray. Towards the end it was like he predicted all of Chelia's attacks before she could even see them through, and as a result she was reduced to having to use her shield way more often than what would be desirable.

His damage had not rose a single percentage before she was knocked out of the arena, signalling the end of the first round.

The second round had ended in a similar fashion than the first.

"The winner is Natsu!"

The loud noise of Max's voice through the mic followed by the even louder cheers from the crowd was what got Lucy to realize she was still gaping at the screen with her jaw unhinged, unable to fathom what just happened.

Was this guy a god?

She had never in her history of participating in this tournament had ever seen such skill and reflexes in this game than just now. Chelia, who had proved to be a worthy opponent, had been utterly crushed. It was clear he hadn't really been putting all his effort in this whole tournament, and Chelia had been the one to finally force him to give it his all.

She could see Chelia's disappointed, yet excited expression as she gave a hug to the man who had bested her, saying something that him chuckling and bringing a thoughtful hand behind his head when they separated.

"And now it's time for the penultimate battle!" The video game club president was once again speaking when Natsu had found his seat, grinning at Lucy.

"Chelia was really tough! Good luck with your match," he said as she rose.

"T-thanks!"

"But I'm looking forward to winning this tournament," the teasing tilt in his voice betrayed the casual tone, and Lucy's glare was on him.

"That's my line," she retorted, turning swiftly around to make her way to the front.

"That's the spirit!" she heard him call out after her.

Her opponent went under the name "G" on the tournament chart, so she couldn't really try and get an idea on who he was, and when he came up to the elevated platform to take the other seat, she still was unable to tell due to the hoodie that hung so low over his head. How did he manage to play like that? He was way taller than her, and that was kind of intimidating, but she pushed that aside because why did that matter at all in this situation.

"Uh, good luck," she said to the mysterious male. The only thing she received in response was a grunt. I'll take it?

They took their seats, and their controllers, and it was time for the match to start.

The character he chose was Ganandorf. Fitting, she couldn't help but think. She decided to be Link, for shits and giggles.

"Fight!"

"G" was immediately on the offensive, and she actually took a couple of good hits from him at the very start. His character was slow, but powerful, and it was clear this wasn't her opponent's first go-around using this guy. Ganondorf was a tough one to master, but he seemed to be using him pretty well.

Not well enough, though.

Lucy easily regained the upper hand with her ranged moves and quick reaction time. She made sure not to get too close, knowing it would likely lead to her downfall with a character like this.

This was how she managed to beat the first round.

She could've sworn she'd heard an irritated growl from her left.

Round two started, and this was when Lucy had begun to struggle. He was better with this character than she had originally thought, and she was beginning to get frustrated with how he kept managing to catch her. Her damage percentage was going up way faster than she wanted it to be right now, and she had to do something before she lost this round.

The sound of how hard he was pressing the buttons distracted her a moment, and she briefly wondered if he was gonna break the controller with the amount of force he was hitting them. She narrowly avoided a smash attack with quick use of her shield, but he was ready for her when she had lowered it, sending a new attack directly at her.

Her damage percentage skyrocketed.

This was simply unacceptable.

Lucy felt her teeth grit involuntarily. It was time to get serious. She only needed to receive one more direct hit before she would surely be getting knocked out of the arena, and that just would not do. She needed to prove to Natsu just what he was dealing with, and a single loss would put all her hard work to waste.

She was going to win this.

With one final hit of the A button, Ganondorf was sent flying off screen. And the ingame announcer's "Game!" signalled the end of the match.

The crowd went wild.

"Shit!" She heard the G guy hiss before rising roughly from his seat and storming off, nearly dropping the controller in his rage. She looked over at him in concern, only for her eyes to widen into saucers when she caught a glimpse of the guys pierced face.

Is that ...?!

"G" was Gajeel! From Fairy Tail!

Holy crap he was just as scary in real life!

Thankfully he had already stormed off before Lucy's fangirl instincts could take over again. It didn't really surprise her much for him to be there, that was kind of expected at this point. Was Erza Scarlet here somewhere, too?

"The winner is Lucy!"

She returned her attention to the game, grinning in relief. That was too close. But she couldn't believe she got to play Gray and Gajeel in Smash!

Beating Natsu would instantly make this one of the greatest days of her life.

"The final match starts in five minutes guys! This tournament is officially coming to a close, so let's wish our last two contestants good luck! It's gonna be a good game, folks!"

The spectators cheered in agreement. Lucy decided to remain where she was seated, seeing no point in moving back to her seat just to come back in five minutes. She would take this time mentally preparing to face her internet crush in Smash, putting all her previous thoughts of him aside and filling her mind with determination.

Oh god this was actually happening.

Lucy was gonna have to come at this with all she had.

She was facing Natsu Dragneel in Smash.

She'd have never guessed this would be happening just mere weeks ago!

… Way sooner than she expected, it was time.

"Alright y'all, are you ready?!"

The crowd exploded.

"And now for the match we've all been waiting for, Natsu versus Lucy!"

The cheers persisted, and all too soon Natsu was taking the seat on her left. She looked over, expecting to be met with a smug smirk, but was surprised to see an honest grin gracing his features. All her confidence seemed to leave her now that this was actually happening. She needed to calm down! Her nerves were gonna get her nowhere in this situation!

"May the best player win!" he held out a hand, and she took it with a small smile.

"Good luck."

"KICK HIS ASS, LUCY!" She heard Cana yell over the sound of the buzzing crowd. The blonde giggled and turned towards the spectators, finding her amongst the crowd and waving. Natsu looked over as well with an offended pout, and Lucy couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips.

The character selection screen appeared on the projector. It was time to start.

She found herself hesitating on this screen for the first time in a while. She was decent at using most characters, but which one would he be using? This was important!

Natsu did not seem to share this problem, immediately going for Charizard and locking in.

Dammit she was losing at character selection!

Fine then. With a wave of resolve, she quickly decided on the first character that came to mind. Locating Sheik, she quickly locked in, the flat Final Destination arena was selected, and the match was ready to start.

3… 2… 1!

Charizard and Sheik spawned on the map.

She instantly charged at him. He didn't move.

Noticing, she stopped just before landing a hit. Why wasn't he moving?

"Um?" She glanced over at him with a slight eyebrow twitch. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you the first hit," Natsu said simply.

Oh you smug fucker.

All her nerves were replaced with irritation as she landed a direct smash attack. And another. And another. She wasn't letting him dodge a single one of her hits, and his damage percentage began rising steadily. She smirked to herself. This was going quite well.

Well, for a while anyway.

Just like he had with Chelia, he was starting to get a read on Lucy's tactics and began to fight back, stopping her rapid progress in its tracks. But she refused to let him rise above her. After a short while they were fighting on equal ground. For every hit Lucy got on him, he managed to land one on her, all other attacks being dodged by one or the other as they both fought to come out on top.

A couple minutes in and both their damage levels were at 90%. Any single hit could end up being the death of either of them, and neither of them wanted to be the receiver of that lucky shot. They kept their distance, landing small ranged hits here and there to bruise their opponent even more.

Their damage reached 120%.

Natsu narrowly miscalculated the range of his smash attack, leaving an opening Lucy took without hesitation.

Charizard was knocked out of the arena. Lucy won the first round.

Lucy immediately let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, the sound of her relieved sigh being drowned out by the wildness of the audience. She didn't have time to be smug, though. That had been a really close round, but she had another one to win.

She chanced a look over at Natsu, and to her surprise he wasn't looking at her at all. His eyes were glued to the screen in intense focus. What is he thinking?

Whatever, it was time to win this.

The next round had started in a very different matter than the first. This time Natsu was the first to charge at her in an attempt to land a hit, but she was able to lift her shield quick enough to avoid it before trying to get an attack in. He dodged it with a jump, and was instantly on the offensive once more.

It was another back and forth battle, with neither parties willing to back down.

Their characters went ceaselessly at each other, dodging and attacking in desperate attempts to raise the other's damage, which had quickly raised to dangerous levels on both sides.

And then Lucy made the mistake of jumping at the worst possible time, leaving her open and unable to do anything as Natsu quickly rose up with a fiery smash attack.

He won the second round.

Lucy refused to let it get to her. She couldn't afford to let it get to her, because now there was one round left that she absolutely needed to win, to defend her title.

But dammit Natsu was too good! She hated to admit it now, but she couldn't be completely sure of her victory anymore.

She was getting caught off guard more times than she was willing to admit, and it was getting frustrating considering how much control she usually had over these matches. He was predicting every one of her moves and countering them with his own, and it was infuriating! She didn't think she'd find someone today that was equal in skill with her at this game, and while this match was grating on her nerves, it was also exciting her more than any other match had previously.

She was having so much fun.

Now if only she could just win…

Charizard and Sheik spawned on the map for the third, final time.

They charged at each other.

Frustratingly, the round had ended up the same as the last two. One was constantly keeping up with the other, and when it finally seemed like one of them was gaining on the other, they would catch up quickly until they were back to fighting on equal ground.

90% damage on both ends.

100% damage.

150% damage.

"Unbelievable! They've both somehow got each other at a damage of 200%!" Lucy vaguely heard Max say from the podium.

One hit. One hit was all she needed and she'd be walking home with her title defended, smug Natsu beat, and a free manga collection as an added bonus. At the edge of her seat, eyes focused on nothing but the screen, Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest. Her competitive spirit was ablaze, and she was planning every movement carefully.

Their characters stood on opposite sides of the stage, neither wanting to make a move in fear of the other somehow managing to get to them first.

Suddenly, Charizard was off, speeding towards Sheik.

Refusing to let him get that hit so easily, she charged back.

She hit him with a perfectly placed mine. He hit her with a direct smash attack.

Both characters were sent careening off the screen.

The sound of the ingame "Game!" was the only thing that could be heard in the large lecture hall.

…

"The winner is…"

Oh my gosh guys who do you think won

I mean, I know, but y'all don't, which makes this fun!

I haven't played smash in so long because school so I hope I got these details right lol anyway holy crap the reviews guys! There's so many! I'm gonna cri!

I think about replying to reviews sometimes but then I remember I'm socially inept trash lol anywhoo

see you next time on I-should-really-be-working-on-my-other-fics-too-but-I-like-this-one-too-much-right-now

this a/n is way too long

But speaking of reviews I might just give you guys the lemon despite everything to show my appreciation T-T

byee