Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Naked Emotions

Chapter One: A Golden Opportunity

One year after the war with Zeref…

It was the happiest day in Lucy's life. All of her dreams were coming true. The cathedral was packed full of people from both her guild and her book fans. Today was the day she'd been waiting for so long.

Today was her wedding day.

Gray, actually keeping his clothes on for once, led her down the aisle. She wore a stunning white wedding dress, a gift from Erza, who was happy to see her friend tie the knot. The redhead herself was among the group of bridesmaids all lined at the foot of the altar. In addition to her there was Levy, Bisca, Juvia, Cana, Mirajane and Lisanna. Opposite them were the groomsmen. Among them were Loki, Elfman, Gildarts, Gajeel, Macao, Sting and Rogue. At the top of the altar was Master Makarov, who was officiating the union. In the front pew were most of her Celestial Spirits, all of whom were crying tears of joy.

And standing next to him was Lucy's betrothed, her true love.

Gray led her up the steps to the altar before handing her to the groom and took his place with the other groomsman. Lucy reached for her new husband's hands and squeezed them gently.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

Lucy waited patiently as Makarov spoke, her face hidden behind the white veil. When asked if she took her groom to be her husband, Lucy eagerly said yes. Then, she heard those magic words.

"Natsu, you may kiss the bride."

Dressed in his best suit, the Dragon Slayer lifted Lucy's veil. The Celestial Spirit Wizard let a tear fall from her eye as she stared at her handsome love. With warm hands Natsu cupped her face and leaned forward, ready to share their first kiss as a married couple.

Just when their lips were about to connect…Lucy woke up.

Opening her eyes, Lucy sat up in bed. She sighed when she realized that the best day of her life had been nothing but a dream. "Another one…" she lamented. She buried her face in the pillow and started to cry from disappointment. "Dammit…"

Shortly after the war with Alvarez, Lucy started to fantasize about her teammate Natsu. It didn't take long for her feelings towards the Dragon Slayer to grow, something that she'd tried to avoid for a long time. Soon she understood why she couldn't get him off her mind.

Lucy loved Natsu.

Sitting back up in bed, Lucy began to get herself ready for another day at the guild. As she brushed her golden sunshine hair, she wished to whatever deity existed that she could confess her true feelings to Natsu. She longed to be with him, her friendship with the pink-haired boy having grown since their first awkward meeting.

The problem is that she just didn't have the opportunity to get Natsu alone long enough for her to confess her feelings. And more importantly, she didn't know if Natsu loved her as well. "Hell, he's so boneheaded that he probably doesn't even know what sex appeal is…" Lucy lamented to her reflection in the mirror as she finished brushing her hair. "Which is weird considering how many times he's seen me naked…"

The blonde blushed when she realized what she just said. "Now that I think about it…it's kinda weird how many times he's seen us naked…"

Sighing in defeat, Lucy threw her clothes on and grabbed her keys before heading for the door. "Maybe I'll find a moment today…"

Later…
Fairy Tail Guildhall

"Ughhh…" Lucy slumped forward onto the bar while Mira poured her a drink. "He's not here again…" she whined.

Putting the glass down next to Lucy, Mirajane patted her head. "Aww! Is our love-struck Lucy down in the dumps?"

"Yeah…" Lucy mumbled before sitting up. "I wanted to get Natsu alone to tell him that I love him but he's been gone for several days." Mirajane was one of the few people that knew that Lucy loved Natsu and she'd come to the girl for advice. She looked over across the guild at all the happy couples who were spending time together. Juvia and Gray. Gajeel and Levy. Even Elfman and Ever were sharing a drink together.

"You should ask him to go out on a job together," Mira suggested. "Just the two of you."

"I would, but every time I try to suggest a job, Gray, Erza, Wendy and Happy come along."

"What's wrong with confessing in front of your friends?" Mira asked.

"It's not that it bugs me. It's just…" She often daydreamed of how her confession would go. "I just want it to be special. You know? Just him and me."

"Aww!" Mira fawned. "How romantic! Why don't you invite him over for dinner at your house?"

Lucy sweatpanned. "Probably because he'd beat me to my house before I could offer. And he'd show up with everyone else." She slumped forward and tried her best not to sulk. "I don't know what to do. And I don't even know how he feels about me."

"Well he's seen you naked enough times he should feel something," Mirajane pointed out. "And didn't you let him touch your boobs?"

"I did NOT let him touch me. He did it on his own. And besides, Natsu's such a bonehead. He probably doesn't see me anything more than just a friend."

The doors to the guild swung wide. Hearing a familiar bellow, Lucy spun around.

"I'M BAAAAAAACK!" Natsu announced as he strolled into the guild.

"Welcome back, Natsu!" Mira greeted. "Where've you been?"

"Training with Erza," the boy told them.

As he neared the two ladies, Lucy saw how battered the Dragon Slayer looked. "Is that why you looked like you jumped feet first into a woodchipper?"

Natsu merely gave his friend a silly grin. "Yeah, but I still had a lot of fun." He pumped his fist into the air. "And I got Erza back for all the times she beat me!"

"What'd you do?"

"I gave her a black eye."

Lucy could do nothing but deadpan. "You gave her a black eye and she wrecked you in about nine different ways. Didn't you, you know, get stronger when you beat Zeref?" she pointed out.

"Yeah, but Erza got crazy strong since beating her mom. Anyway, where's Wendy?"

"She's out on a job with Carla," Mirajane explained. "By the way, where's Happy? It's unusual to see you two separated."

"He went to a fish fry in the next town over."

While Mirajane went to go fetch the first aid kit to patch up Natsu, Lucy noticed the slip of paper that was sticking out of Natsu's pocket. "Hey, Natsu? Is that a job request?" she asked, curious.

"This? Yeah. I grabbed it on my way out last night. Figured it'd be our next job together."

Natsu handed her the paper. Lucy read it out loud. "Dark Wizard bounty. It's in Nommé Village." The job seemed to indicate that the village was under a curse by a Dark Wizard. "Nommé village…where have I heard that name before?" she wondered out loud. She looked down at the bottom of the paper and her eyes lit up when she saw the amount the reward offered. "Seven hundred and fifty THOUSAND jewels?!" She let out a whistle. "This Dark Wizard must be hurting these people pretty bad if they're willing to spend that much money.

"Yeah. Figured it'd be just the challenge we could use," Natsu said triumphantly, as if he'd already beaten the Dark Wizard. "Want in?" he asked.

Walking up behind her, Mirajane whispered into her ear. "This is your chance! Gray's going on a job alone with Juvia. This is the best opportunity to get alone with Natsu!"

Lucy felt hope reignite inside her. 'Right! I don't know if I'll ever get this chance again.' "Sure, Natsu. Let's go right now," she said eagerly, hoping to get away with Natsu before Erza arrived and wanted in on the fun.

Lucy's words filled Natsu with vigor. He didn't know why Lucy was so pumped at such danger, since he'd always seen her frightened of such dangerous prospects, but he liked it nonetheless. After Mira finished treating him he grabbed Lucy's hand. "Alright, let's go!"

Everyone watched as Natsu sped away with the speed of a bullet, pulling a hapless Lucy behind him.

"NATSU! SLOW DOWN!"

After quickly gathering their things, the two friends were seated in a carriage on their way to the village. Lucy couldn't help the giggle as she watched Natsu trying his best to avoid puking from his motion sickness. It never got old to watch someone as strong as Natsu laid low by his weakness.

"Ughhh…" Natsu groaned, queasy from the bumping of the carriage along the road. "Where's Wendy when you need her the most?"

"Nommé Village…" Lucy repeated, the name of the town nagging her. "I think I remember reading about it before." She reached into her bag and brought one of the books she'd brought for the road, Fiore's Top Fifty Weirdest Towns and Cities. Lucy had bought it a long time ago but hadn't the time to read it until just recently. "Let's see…here!" she exclaimed as she found the page mentioning the village they were heading. As she read the page though, her eyes soon widened and a sense of horror began to creep up on her. "Wh-what?" she mumbled, the book slipping out of her hands.

Her eyes bulged cartoonishly and her hands went to her head as she leaned back, realizing just what she'd signed up for.

"WE'RE GOING TO A NUDIST COLONY?!"

To be continued