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Honestly, she didn't expect for this to happen. Out of everything that could have gone wrong, this was the number one thing that hadn't scratched her brain. He was an idiot, sure, but she truly did love and care about him. How could he just disregard all of her hard work and emotions like that? It was probably one of the hardest things for her to do, to come up to him and confess like that. He just had to say what he did, smile the way he did, and brush off what she told him like it was no big deal at all. It made her want to whack him over the head like she had done so many times before. She sighed, collapsing at the table, watching him as he did his stupid little dance on a different table. Did her feelings mean that little to him?
“Why the long face?” She heard Cana say as she slid into the booth, eager to pry into her mind for what exactly is going through it.
“Nothing,” she groaned, turning her head to face her.
“You're eyeing him, again.”
She rolled her eyes, “It doesn't matter.”
“Doesn't matter? Why? Did you confess your heart to him?”
She groaned, and face planted into the table.
“No way!” Cana nudged her, “I was just joking, so why are you upset?”
She groaned again.
“Got rejected?” Cana asked, “by Natsu?” She sounded surprised.
“Yes, I did.” She sighed, and looked over to her, “I took your advice from your tarot reading, and went ahead and confessed to him.”
“And he rejected you?”
“Yes.”
Cana was silent for a few minutes, before clicking her tongue, “Now, that doesn't seem right.”
“Well, it's what happened.”
“My cards are never wrong though.”
“Well they were. I got rejected.”
Cana shook her head, “no way that's true.”
“It is, Cana.”
She sighed, and placed her hand to her mouth, cupping it as she yelled, “Hey, Natsu! Get over here!”
He stopped dancing on the table, and turned around, “What is it?”
“Lucy’s sad.”
He hopped down and was by her side in a heartbeat, “Why you sad, Luce? Something happen? Don't have money to pay your rent?”
“Cana…” Lucy groaned, giving her a deathly glare. Did she seriously have to call him over right now? When she had only just been rejected?
“Lucy says you don't like her.” Cana pouted, “That can't be true, right?”
He leaned against the table, “Why would I not like her?”
“Cana, just stop, okay?”
“No, Lucy, why would I not like you?” Natsu asked.
“She says you rejected her heartfelt confession!” Cana hummed.
He stared blankly at her for a few seconds, before turning his attention back to Lucy, “What'd you confess?”
She snapped her attention up to him, “what did I confess? Are you serious, Natsu?”
He nodded.
“Her love for you, duh.” Cana sighed.
“Love… for me?” Natsu repeated, “Oh! That was a confession? But like, I thought confessions were supposed to be you getting something off your chest. Like, this: I accidentally burned your manuscript and hid it in Happy's bag.”
“You what?”
He shrugged, “It was forever ago, and it was only three pages.”
“Three pages!” Lucy exclaimed, “That… ugh,” she sighed, “it doesn't matter, I've got no energy to be mad at you right now.”
“But how was that a confession? I already knew about it.”
“What?” Cana hummed, “you knew?”
“Course I did.” Natsu replied, “why are you acting like I'm stupid or something?”
“No, no, no, it's nothing.” Cana shook her head, smiling.
Lucy groaned, “So you knew, and still allowed me to confess.”
He frowned, “Is that why you're sad?”
“Why? Cause you rejected me?” She pushed herself up, and slid out of the booth, “I'm going home.”
“What? Already? But what about the quest we were gonna do? Don't you need money for rent?” He asked, hurriedly rushing to stand in front of her.
She sighed, “Do it without me.”
“I can't do it without you, Lucy, we're a team.”
“Not anymore.” She sighed, and walked around him.
“What? Not anymore? Why?” He exclaimed, chasing after her.
“You rejected her, idiot!” Cana laughed, and took a drink of her beer.
Natsu looked back at her, “Rejected? What do you mean?” He turned back to Lucy, “what do you mean I rejected you?”
She sighed, and pushed him out of the way, “I don't want to talk about it right now, Natsu, I'm hurt enough.”
“You're hurt?” He asked, following her out of the guildhall, “where? Want me to go get Wendy?”
“I'm hurt psychologically, not physically, Natsu, you rejected me, remember?”
He stared at her in silence as she walked away from him. Her silence was short lived though, because he was back by her side again, asking her what she meant by him having rejected her. She seriously didn't want to relive that moment, it was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life so far. She groaned, picking up her pace as if Natsu wouldn't be able to keep up with her. He did, mightily so, even doing circles around her as she hurriedly tried to get to her apartment.
“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy,” he kept repeating her name over and over and over again, as if that would make her stop in her tracks.
Unfortunately, he was right, and it did. She halted at least a block from her apartment, and grabbed him by the scarf, jolting him around to look at her, “Natsu, would you stop pestering me. I don't want the guy who I like to constantly be reminding me how he turned down my confession.”
“Turned down?” He repeated, “what? Your confession, about how you like me? What do you mean?”
“You rejected me flat out, Natsu.”
“What?”
“Do you want me to remind you how you did it?”
“No, if you're talking about what I said, you're saying I rejected you? How so?”
She groaned, and mimicked his voice, “‘That’s cool, Luce, I'm gonna go eat now, see ya!’ Yeah, rejection.”
He blinked, and shook his head, “What?”
“Brushed off my confession in the worst possible way! I'd prefer it if you told me something like, ‘I appreciate the thought, but I’d rather see you as just a friend.’”
He tilted his head in confusion, “Yeah, you are my friend.”
“See!” She jolted an open palm at him, “You're rejecting me again!”
He looked even more confused, “Rejection, as in… I don't like you?”
“Yes.”
“But I do. You're nice, Lucy.”
She groaned, and pushed him aside, “Not that kind of like. I took a chance, and the door slammed in my face. I get it, Natsu, we're just friends, and we're nothing more.”
“Yeah, we're friends,” Natsu replied, “but I don't get why you keep saying I rejected you.”
“Isn't it obvious, Natsu?”
“Uh, no.”
“Cana's cards are wrong,” she grumbled to herself, “I can't believe I trusted what she said.”
He was beside her again, “Cana's cards are never wrong, though?”
She shoved a hand at his cheek, pushing him away from her, “Oh yeah, then tell me how I had gotten rejected after heeding her advice?”
He shrugged, “Cause I don't know what you're talking about.”
“It's obvious, Natsu.”
“If it's obvious, how come I don't get it.”
At least he recognizes his simple mind. She sighed, “Cana pulled me three cards the other day, told me that my feelings were reciprocated, and that I should take the chance.”
“Yeah?”
“And then I got rejected.”
He frowned, “Reciprocated… reciprocated…”
“It means the feelings are mutual.”
“Huh?”
She gestured to the two of them, “That you and I have the same feelings for each other.”
“I know what mutual means, Lucy.”
“Oh yeah? Then how come-”
“So you and I feel the same things for each other.”
She groaned, “Yes, according to Cana's cards, but clearly that's not the case.”
“So… you and I feel the same thing.”
She groaned, again, clearly this wasn't getting through to him, “Natsu, clearly, we don't, because then I wouldn't have gotten rejected.”
“What? But Cana's cards said we do.”
“And Cana's cards are wrong, Natsu.”
He shook his head, “Cana's cards are never wrong.”
“Clearly, that's not true.”
“What?”
She sighed, and turned away, “I'm done talking about this, Natsu, I need space.”
He hurriedly grabbed her wrist before she could walk off, and spun her around so that she faced him again, “I'm confused.”
“What? How are you confused? Clearly, you and I have different feelings towards each other.”
He frowned, “Cana's cards aren't wrong, though, Lucy, and I already knew about your feelings, so I'm confused on why you keep saying I don't like you the same way and rejected you.”
“Because my feelings are obviously a different type of feeling than your feelings.”
He stared at her in silence for a few minutes, still holding her in his grasp, as if she'd run away the second he let go. She would, she wasn't going to lie to herself. She sighed, and began pulling her wrist free from him. They were getting plenty of eyes from the citizens of Magnolia, and she was becoming more and more embarrassed about her outburst. She really wished she could handle rejection better than she did. She pulled at his fingers, one by one to get him to let go of her wrist.
“Then tell me how it's different.” He finally said.
“What? You want me to confess again?”
“No, I want you to tell me how Cana's wrong.”
She frowned, “You like me because we're friends.”
“Yeah.”
“I like you in a way that's more than that.”
“Yeah, I know.”
She groaned, running a hand through her hair, “That's how it's different, Natsu. I want to do more than friends things with you.”
“More than friends things? Like what?”
She blinked and looked around, “You want me to say it right here?”
“Then show me. What is the more than friends things you're talking about? Because I'm still not getting how I rejected you, supposedly.”
She grabbed his face, “I. Love. You.”
He nodded, “I love ya, too, but I'm not seeing how it makes things different.”
She shook her head, “I. Love. You.”
He nodded again, “saying the same thing isn't making it any clearer.”
“Natsu…”
“What? If you love me so much in a way that's different than me, then show me.”
“What?”
“How is your love different from mine? How is Cana wrong? How-”
She shut him up by planting a hard kiss against his lips. Her blush extended to her ears and down her neck. She backed away, let go of his face, and stared at his wide and shocked eyes. She sighed, well, there goes her dignity. She pulled her arm to her side, face beating red. Erza's hair would probably pale in comparison right now.
She shook her head, and turned away from him, “There. That's how it's different. Now, can you leave me alone?”
He didn't reply, and she took that as a chance to leave. Leaving him alone and dumbstruck on the street. She sighed, and finished making the walk over to her apartment. This was embarrassing to say the least. The whole town basically just saw her confess, get rejected, confess again, and then kiss him square on the lips. She could hear them murmuring, and whispering to each other. The Fairy Tail guild members weren't unknown in the town, and everyone in her neighborhood knew who she was, and Natsu was arguably one of the more well known mages in town, or rather, in Fiore. Even stretching across the whole continent and other worlds, that's how well known Natsu was. So the fact that he just got kissed on the lips by his celestial mage teammate was probably on everyone’s mouth. She groaned, and buried her face in her pillow. She didn't want to think about it.
She awoke to a knock on her window, and she looked over to see it sliding open, and her dragon slayer friend making his way inside, to plop himself next to her on her bed. He tapped her shoulder, and she buried her face back in her pillow. How did he not get the hint? She groaned. He tapped her shoulder again.
“What do you want?”
“Do it again, I wasn't ready.”
She turned to look at him, the moonlight giving him a sort of halo as it shone through her window, “What?”
“This kiss.” He replied, “Do it again.”
She groaned, “We don't feel the same thing for each other, Natsu-”
“I didn't know kissing was on the table.” He stated before she could finish her sentence.
“What?”
He tilted his head down to be closer to hers, “Kissing. I didn't know it was okay to do that.”
“What?”
“You seemed so against it before.”
“Well, yeah, cause we're not dating.”
He nodded, “Yeah, we aren't, but I didn't know it was okay to kiss if our feelings were the same.”
“It's not, because our feelings aren't the same.”
He sighed, and leaned back, resting the back of his head on her window pane, “You keep saying that, but Cana's cards aren't wrong, and I know what you're feeling.”
“Natsu.” She groaned, sitting up, “I love you. Like really love you, so you coming here right now, after rejecting me, is not helping.”
“I still don't see how I rejected you,” he sighed, “So, what else can we do? Igneel said that I can't do anything to her unless she says it's okay.”
“At least Igneel was aware of consent.” She groaned, “guess dragons have that, too. But Natsu, you and I aren't together.”
“Sure we are.”
“No… together.”
He shook his head, “Um, yeah we are.”
“Just you and me.”
He looked around the room, “I don't see anyone else, not even Happy is here.”
“No, no, no, you and I aren't an item.”
“No, duh, we're people.”
She sighed, and flicked his forehead, “I like you in a ‘more than friendship' way. I want to be lovers.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I know.”
“If you know, then just stop hurting me by coming here after rejecting me.”
“When did I reject you?” He asked, again, “and you said Cana said our feelings are mutual. And she's right.”
She groaned, “You seriously trust Cana's cards don't you?”
He shrugged, “Not all the time, but she is right on this one.”
“Natsu-”
“I'm telling you she's right.”
“And I'm telling you she's wrong. You and I don't feel the same way towards each other.”
“But I'm the one who is saying that we do!” He exclaimed.
“We don't. I kissed you, and you did nothing.”
“I was shocked, I didn't know it was okay to do that.”
She shoved him, “Just leave, Natsu.”
“No.”
“What?”
“Why are you forcing me to leave? I came here because I want to kiss again, I wasn't ready last time.”
“I'm not kissing someone who doesn't like me back.”
“But I do.”
“You don't.”
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him, “Why wouldn't I like my mate?”
She blinked, weird way to say partner, she sighed, “Natsu-”
“We're already mates right? So why do you keep saying I rejected you?”
“What? Natsu, that's a weird term to use, we're people, not animals, and-”
“That's right! Spouse. That's the word, right?”
“What? Natsu, we're not married.”
“Spoused.” He stated.
“I said we're not.”
“We aren't?”
She blinked, what? She looked around the room, before back at him. “Wait, hold up… if you thought we were spoused, why on earth did you reject me?”
“Cause I didn't. I don't know why you keep saying I did.”
“What? No, you very clearly admitted we were friends.”
“Yeah, boyfriend and girlfriend, is that not ‘friends’?”
“But then you said we aren't dating.”
“Yeah, we're not.”
She sighed, “boyfriend and girlfriend are used to address dating.”
He stared at her for a few seconds, “Ah, I must have gotten the words wrong. So what's wyf and housbonde?”
“What? Isn't that just… wife and husband?”
He snapped his fingers, “Yeah, that's the word.”
She groaned, “You still rejected me though.”
He shook his head, “Why would I reject you? We've been betrothed since we met in Hargeon.”
She blinked, “Where did you get that idea?”
He tilted his head, confused, “Was I wrong? But you offered to buy me food, and I accepted.”
“What? Yeah, that was thanks.”
“But then I even gave you something in return as proof of my acceptance.”
“The fake salamander signature?”
He shrugged, “It was the only thing I had on hand, and I gave you a rainbow cherry blossom tree later.”
That moment was engraved in her mind, it was still such a precious and unforgettable moment that truly made her fall for him, “Still, Natsu-”
“I even introduced you to my family. Brought you to Fairy Tail. I'm confused, did I do it wrong?”
She blinked, “In what world would that make me think we were betrothed, and since when have we been married?”
He blinked, “What? When you welcomed me home?”
“What?”
“Sharing a home. That's marriage, right?”
“You still live with Happy.”
“Yeah, cause Igneel said to not do anything without you saying it's okay first.”
“And-”
“And you never said it was okay to move in with Happy and I, so we come here. Besides, it smells like you. Makes me comfortable.”
She groaned, “So… this whole time… you thought that we were married. So you said what you did because you thought it was obvious? A given?”
He nodded, “isn't it?”
She sighed, “what if I didn't like you?”
“But you do.”
“But what if…”
“But you do. So, can we kiss again? I wasn't ready for it last time.”
She sighed, “So, I didn't get rejected?”
“No, why would I reject my spouse?”
She dropped her head, now she felt really stupid. She felt a forehead pressed against hers, and she looked up to see him closing his eyes, in front of her. She really did love him. He was so warm and gentle, and an idiot sometimes, and strong. This was all a misunderstanding, on both of their parts. She carefully lifted a hand up to caress his cheek. Leaning her head up, changing the angle.
“I love you.” She whispered against his lips.
He smiled, “I love you, too.”
Gently, softly, and not as abrupt as she had done before, she pressed her lips against his. He didn't move at first, as if confirming that this was really what she wanted, before mimicking her actions and taking over on the kiss. She was surprised at first by how desperate he was, eager to explore every inch of her. A hesitant hand rested on her waist, and a careful touch lingered at the back of her head, before claiming it was okay to pull her closer. He did, and she was grateful. Who knew such a warm sloppy kiss would feel this good. She opened her mouth, surprising him, but he immediately reciprocated. She felt him leaning closer, and leaned back herself, and soon she found herself laying on her back, as he hovered above her.
He pulled away, “Sorry, was I too rough?”
She shook her head, and pulled his arm, laying him beside her, “I loved it.” She muttered, before cozying up against his chest, and letting his warmth and the moonlight put her to sleep. He pulled her closer, as if accepting this fate, and kissed the top of her head. Soon she felt his chest rise and fall in his slumber, as her own sleep overtook her, safely secured in his loving embrace.
She was definitely gonna make it clear to him that they weren't married when they woke up, though.