Nalu oneshots

shot 10: Smoke

Natsu and Lucy were relaxing in companionable silence in Lucy's apartment after dinner. The blonde was writing at her desk and Natsu was sprawled on her couch idly flipping the pages of a Sorcerer's Weekly magazine.

"Lucy, when do you smoke?"

"Eh?! I do NOT smoke!"

"I'm confused, I know some of the guys said you were smokin'."

"Who said that?" Lucy swivelled her chair, crossed her arms and frowned. "I would never smoke, it ruins your skin and makes a person look older. Besides, do I smell of smoke?"

Natsu nodded, "yeah, you don't reek and you look plenty immature I guess." These offhand remarks incensed Lucy. She slapped down her pencil and stalked over to the couch. Natsu yelped as his partner pinched his arm.

"Was that too immature of me?" Lucy sneered, "Now I've had a second to think about it, it must have been Wakaba or Macao saying that. Perverts."

"Yup, it was them. But why are they perverts?" The pink haired boy rubbed his arm and looked up into his partner's angry face. "Smoking isn't perverted." He scrunched his brows together and thought intently. "Is it?" He sat up, still clutching the magazine.

"Mmph - it is the way they meant it." Lucy felt the pink in her cheeks rise. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried, I just wanna understand." Natsu dropped the magazine and pulled Lucy down onto the couch beside him. "You're smart, tell me what they meant."

"Eh?! Just ask Gray!" The colour in Lucy's cheeks escalated quickly. "He can tell you whatever you need to know." She tried to stand up, but Natsu had a stubborn hold on her hand.

"C'mon. You're right here and I don't wanna ask the ice princess anything." Natsu grinned, "you know lots and lots. Tell me!"

"Um, well...it's just a slang term." Lucy wracked her brain, thinking of an explanation that would satisfy her partner without giving her terminal embarrassment. "Just a way to say you think someone is very attractive." She heaved a sigh of relief - that was a pretty good answer if she did say so herself.

"Are you sure that's right? 'Cause when I think about some other stuff I heard, I thought smoke was supposed to come out of the ears or somethin'."

Intrigued despite her better judgement, Lucy leaned forward and looked deeply into Natsu's innocent eyes. "Smoke out of ears is NOT possible. Who's been feeding such outlandish tales to you?"

"Wakaba and Macao."

"You can't believe everything they tell you Natsu." Lucy sighed, "now let go of my hand. I've got writing to do."

"Yeah, but there's an experiment I kinda wanna try." Natsu's onyx eyes were guileless.

Lucy found herself shrugging and nodding, "Okay but make it quick."

He grinned widely, "we'll see about changing your mind on that."

Lucy became hyper aware of just how close they were to each other. Natsu laced his fingers with Lucy's and shifted his position so he could face her better.

With the swiftness Natsu was known for in battle, he leaned forward and pressed his lips over Lucy's mouth. In shock, she gasped and that was when he pressed his advantage. His free hand cupped the back of her head gently and he slowly tasted Lucy. A purr of satisfaction rumbled in his chest; Natsu pulled a willing Lucy onto his lap and continued kissing her.

The magazine laid on the floor, long forgotten by the two panting mages. It had fallen off of the couch and landed spread open. An article was circled with red pen and the title proclaimed: Show Her She's Smokin' Hot.