#18k?

[kirnet]

LOVE when a video game protag is called a title. The Warden, the Watcher, the Exile…. Yessss be defined by a concept greater than yourself that will ultimately overtake your life

[gojosbf]

[rileyclaw]

 i had a dream about this scenario last night.

[furiosophie]

[firbolgfriend]

Follow up to this post, good god this blew up on tt

[sleepingsims]

my finals coping mechanism is photoshopping ombres onto wips that i've been thinking abt all quarter :p

[calumthomcs]

wanna be yours // LN

pairing: lando norris X american!reader / mclaren photographer!reader

word count: 18k (listen.... i couldn't stop so get a snack bc it's a long one)

warnings: cursing, alcohol use, smut (18+) (oral, p in v, no protection, praise kink, edging, and choking)

includes: heavy mutual pining and jealousy, asshole!lando, clueless lando and reader, a little lando X oscar X reader bff trio, friends to enemies to ???, and time manipulation ( idk wtf to call it i just changed the creation date of lando.jpg lmao)

summary: you're the mclaren f1 team photographer and lando can't help but get jealous at your friendship with logan sargeant.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Not many people in the world get to do what they love as a career. It was something you were grateful for everyday. If you were being honest, you never saw yourself being a sports photographer. After graduating high school you had your eyes set on more editorial work, but it didn't take long for you to figure out that it wasn't for you. Years had passed and then an opportunity arose for a job working with IndyCar. You sent in your portfolio and somehow you got the job. That one on a whim decision changed your life forever.

People were insanely impressed with your skills, considering you had never done sports photography before, let alone motorsports. You had made some connections with people while working the job and somehow got connected with someone on the McLaren Formula One team. McLaren liked what they saw, and after a handful of emails, some serious debating, and support from your family; you had made the leap. Now here you are in your second year as McLaren's F1 team photographer.

Oscar and you joined McLaren the same year and the two of you clicked instantly, bonding over being newcomers to the team. It took about a three months for Lando to warm up to you, but once he did, look out. The three of you were never far from each other during race week. Some of the older drivers liked to call you three 'the triplets' because you were always in tow of one another.

You had made another new friend recently, Logan Sargeant. He joined F1 the same year started with McLaren, but you hadn't really made that many friends outside Oscar and Lando besides a couple other drivers. That changed at the beginning of this season. The two of you had started to be more friendly, and it didn't take long for a connection to form. It was nice to have someone that reminded you of home around, even if you guys were from two completely different states.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Monza

The Italian Grand Prix had just ended and Lando had made podium, placing P2 to be exact. As you stood there waiting for him to get out of the car you snapped a couple pictures making sure your settings were correct. The buzz in the air after Lando or Oscar made podium was something you still hadn't gotten used to. It was electric; from the cheers and chants from the fans, to hollering from the team as he exited the vehicle. You snapped a few photos as he greeted the team, a small bounce in his step proved he was more than ecstatic about his placement. It was a tough race, everyone had brought their A game today, drivers and cars included. So it was fair to say P2 was an excellent spot to be in, even if you would have loved to see him on that top spot.

His helmet and balaclava were off and you knew he was coming your way, so you readied your camera in his direction. Looking through the viewfinder you saw the giant smile that erupted on his face when he saw you and you couldn't help but to reciprocate one as equally as big back to him as you snapped away. One last one was taken of him with two fingers up indicating the second place he had just achieved. As you lowered your camera his arms were already indicating your invitation into them. Your arms wrapped around his torso, something that was just muscle memory to you at this point.

"That was one hell of a race. Congrats Lan." He had you wrapped so tight in his embrace that your words were mumbled against his shoulder, but he understood you just fine.

"Hmm. Thank you love." The term of endearment raised goosebumps on your arms. And as you pulled away from the hug his touch lingered for longer than it should have, something you clocked immediately.

To say you and Lando had a different friendship was an understatement. In fact, you didn't know of any other driver and their team photographer to have a relationship like Lando and you. About six months into your first year with McLaren you had developed a tiny crush on Lando and for the longest time you thought he possibly may have liked you back.

The fact that he was always touching you was one of your first inklings. If it was possible, the Brit was always in close proximity to you. If you were sitting next to each other, your knees were touching or his arm was behind you. Not to mention his lingering touches, hugs lasting longer than they should, his hands lingering on your waist, his fingers grazing you as he passed by. The way he acted with you was far from professional, but you weren't complaining.

Your second inkling was the gift giving. How many people can say their co-worker got them a Cartier bracelet for Christmas? None that you could think of. It wasn't even just expensive things that he would get you. If you guys were at headquarters he would always bring you an iced coffee from the place down the road. You had mentioned once that you preferred their coffee to other places and to your surprise Lando showed up the next day with one in hand for you. Or just even the fact that when you're with Lando, doing anything, he pays. Doesn't matter what it is, he's there with his card in hand, ignoring your pleas to let you pay for once.

The terms of endearment Lando used towards you had also made you wonder if he felt more than friendly feelings. The term 'love' was used quite often, along with 'beautiful'. Both terms surely in violation of HR, but Lando didn't seem to care as he said both freely with no concern of who heard him. And each time he did you tried to hide the blush that would creep onto your cheeks or try not to let him detect how fast your heart was beating when he had you in his arms.

So, to say Lando Norris had you smitten over him was an understatement, but you never acted on that crush for two reasons. One; you didn't want to risk your job, you were sure HR would have a conniption fit if a relationship ever developed between the two of you. You were surprised you hadn't gotten a talking to by PR at least for how you guys acted sometimes during race weeks.

Second; you never truly knew how he felt. Lando Norris liked to mess with your head. In all honesty he probably didn't know that he was, you had never expressed how you felt about him, he had no obligations towards you. But to have him act like he does with you and then that same day see him on Twitter leaving a club with some girl was undoubtedly going to fuck with your head..

After the third or fourth time of waking up to news about who Lando was hooking up with, you knew it was time for your crush to go away. He clearly wasn't interested in you and you were never one to admit your feelings first. So, those feelings got tucked away into a little corner in your brain, locked away, to hopefully never be opened again. Not wanting to lose Lando entirely (and your job), you accepted that you guys were just friends. That he was just one of those people who were naturally flirty, and that maybe you shouldn't take his words and actions to heart. Telling yourself that he wouldn't even be interested in someone like you when he had so many ethereal breathtaking women at his fingertips. And it worked, until he would let his hands lingered after a hug or a term of endearment slipped past his lips. His mindless actions jiggling the door knob to those locked away feelings in your brain.

As he took the podium your cheesy grin had returned as you snapped some more pictures. He really did look amazing up there and no matter what you felt or still feel about him you were always going to be proud of him. He was one of your best friends and as long as you were concerned, nothing was going to change that. The champagne went flying minutes later and more pictures were taken. The celebration continued for a while and as the drivers did their press interviews you made your way back to the hotel to start editing and picking the final pictures to be used on social media.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Lando had made it back to the hotel after finally finishing all his post race duties. He was satisfied with his placing today, sure he would have loved to have won, but everyone was cutthroat today, he just felt lucky enough to have made podium at all. Of course his night was far from over though, the celebrations had just only begun when the champagne was popped at the podium. He planned on having one hell of a night, he deserved it. And it was a no brainer to him that you would be there with him, any chance he got to spend with you, he took. After taking a shower he grabbed his phone to call you, and to no surprise you answered on the second ring.

Your melodic voice filled his ears, a smile tugging at his lips as he heard you speak. "Hello?"

The phone was on speaker as he dug through his suitcase, trying to find a shirt to wear. "We are going out in about an hour. You coming?"

A sigh echoed through the speaker. "I've got a lot of work to still do. You know I don't just take all these pictures for my own person pleasure."

He finally found a shirt and as he buttoned it he couldn't help but laugh at your words. "Oh really? I thought you just took all those pictures because you were obsessed with me.

You scoffed at his cockiness. "You wish Norris. Someone has to fix that face."

"Ouch. Don't talk about Oscar like that." He joked.

He wasn't there but he was sure that you had rolled your eyes at him. "Whatever. I have work to do." You stated. But Lando knew that wasn't true and that you were coming out tonight, you could never tell him no. If Lando was being honest with himself, he couldn't really tell you no either. If anything the two of you just liked to play cat and mouse.

Cologne wafted through his room as the conversation continued. "You're telling me, you would rather sit in your room all night editing pictures than going out with your favorite person and some of your other friends?"

You laughed at his choice of words. "My favorite person? I didn't know Logan was going?"

Logan.

Just hearing his name roll off your tongue put a sour taste in Lando's mouth. The two American's friendship being a sore subject to Lando as of recently.

He ignored you comment, the lightheartedness of the conversation had dissipated at the mention of the other male driver. "Be ready in thirty minutes. I'll come get you." He left no time for you to respond, already hanging up and tossing his phone on the bed.

Thirty minutes later he closed his door behind him and walked down the hall to your room. The both of you were on the same floor, but about ten rooms apart. A gentle knock was placed on the door and seconds later it opened. Lando felt his heartbeat quicken at the sight of you standing in the doorway. The skirt you were wearing was very short and as you turned around to grab your phone, he saw that your top that already had him staring from the front, was completely open in the back. This was not an outfit that he was used to seeing you in. Outside the usual McLaren gear you donned, you had a casual style, and when you had went clubbing or out before you had never worn anything this scandalous. He wasn't hating it though, in fact he was far from hating it.

"Eyes up here Norris." You stated as you joined him in the hallway.

He hadn't even realized he was staring, but when your words broke him out of his trance a blush crept onto his cheeks. Lando linked his arm with yours, leading you both towards the elevator. "Sorry for staring. You look beautiful tonight." Lando stated as he pressed the lobby button on the elevator. As the doors closed the smell of your perfume swarmed around him, it was almost intoxicating, combine that with how you looked tonight and his head was spinning.

You replied with a simple 'thanks' as you leaned against the elevator wall. He realized he may have made things awkward with his ogling, but god he couldn't help himself. The ding indicated their ride was over and as the two of them entered the lobby they were met with some of the other drivers standing in a group, undoubtedly waiting for them.

"Finally!" The Monegasque driver hollered.

You approached the group, a smile tugging at your lips. "Sorry boys. You know how Lando has to make sure he looks perfect."

The laughs that came from the guys was the last thing on Lando's mind, he was more concerned over how some of his competitors were looking at you. It was the same way he was looking at you merely minutes ago. His jaw clenched as he watched Charles hand get dangerously close to your back as he walked beside you. And as you got into one of the taxis with Charles and Carlos, he thought he might break a tooth from how hard he was biting down. As the taxi that was occupied with you and the two Ferrari drivers pulled away, Lando begrudgingly got into the next one with Oscar and George, already feeling like tonight wasn't going to plan out like he had hoped.

The music was deafening as Lando entered the club. You were nowhere in sight when he had arrived, so here he was on the hunt. He stopped by the bar, grabbing a shot of tequila for him and your favorite drink to give you when he found you. When he saw Charles off to the side of the room he figured he'd find you with him, but to his surprise Charles was stood there talking to some random guy, with no you in sight.

"Have you seen Y/N?" Lando felt like he was screaming, clubs were loud, he knew that, but this one just felt like it was on another level.

Charles shook his head. "The American stole her away from me! It was a shame, we were having a good time!"

The American. No guessing as to who that was. He stopped by the bar again, this time it was two tequila shots, the burn felt good as it slid down his throat. His eyes scanned the room, it was hard to see. Between the flashing lights, loud music, and bodies in every direction, he figured he'd never find you. Then just when he was about to give up he spotted you. Your back was to him, but he could see the tall blonde driver that was with you, his hands roaming your body as the two of them danced.

Lando tightened his grip on the glass as he watched the two of them and he couldn't help but think 'who the hell invited Logan?' The same hands that were on your body seconds ago now pointed at him, motioning for you to look back at Lando. A smile spread across your face as you realized who was standing there and as you walked over he felt his demeanor soften.

"I've been looking for-" Logan had now come up behind you, his hand resting on you shoulder, causing you to pause for a moment.

Lando's eyes flickered to Logan's hand on your shoulder, then back to you. Fucking ridiculous. He wanted to take Logan's hand and break it, make him not be able to race ever again and then he wouldn't be an issue again. His softened demeanor now long gone. "Here. Your favorite." He stated as he shoved the now watered down drink toward you.

You accepted the drink, but your smile was now gone as Lando turned on his heel to leave. You weren't sure what his deal was, but he on the other hand knew exactly what he was about ready to do.

He wasn't sure how many shots he had consumed by now, but god dammit he was a multi-million dollar F1 driver, who just got podium at the hardest race of the season so far. He was going to drink however much he wanted and no one, not even you were going to ruin his fun.

Lando made his way out to the dance floor and his eye caught the attention of some random girl. Perfect. The music pounded in his chest as the mystery girl and him were less than cordial in the middle of the swarm of bodies. The alcohol coursing through his veins only added to how he was feeling right now. It didn't take long for the random girl to be in tow behind him as they leave the club, for their lips to be on one anothers in the backseat of the taxi, and for his wandering hands to explore her body in the elevator. But what does take long is for him to get into his damn hotel room. He keeps trying and trying and the keycard will not work. He was getting impatient, the last thing he wanted to do was go back down to the lobby, he wanted to get into his room. Then he heard you voice.

"Lando?"

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

There was a cool breeze that whipped through the night air as you walked the streets of Monza. The liquor in your veins was the only thing keeping you warm, considering your less than modest outfit choice for the night.

"I'd give you my jacket if I had one." Logan stated as he walked next to you.

You flashed him a smile. "I'm fine really. It's not that bad out."

The two of you had decided to walk back to the hotel, it really wasn't that far of a walk from the club. Plus, you had wanted to soak up as much time in Italy as you could. As you walked you were thankful you didn't go crazy with the drinking tonight, the idea of walking in heels on these streets while plastered sounded horrible. If anything at this point you only had a slight buzz. You couldn't say the same for some of the other drivers who were undoubtedly still living it up at the club.

Light conversation was made between the two of you as you walked.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" You asked.

"I did. I'm glad you decided to come out too." Silence filled the space between the two of you for a moment before the driver spoke again. "Can I ask a question?"

Your heart skipped a beat. You hated when people asked that, just ask the damn question instead of making your mind run worst case scenario, but you simply replied. "Sure."

Logan scratched the back of his neck, like he was unsure if he should even ask the question. But just before you were about the tell him to spit it out, he spoke. "What's up with you and Lando?"

Glancing over at Logan you gave him a confused look. "What do you mean what's up with me and Lando?"

Your question made Logan stop walking. "Oh come on you know what I mean. Are you guys a thing?"

A genuine laugh came barreling out of you. "Me and Lando? Oh yeah and I'm a F1 driver." You had continued to walk, but Logan grabbed your hand pulling you back towards him.

"I'm serious Y/N."

The joking manner of the conversation was now suddenly gone. "Nothing is going on between me and Lando. Believe me." You groaned, Lando was the last thing you wanted to talk about right now, especially after his weird behavior in the club.

Logan's grip on your hand still lingered. "Doesn't seem like it."

You rolled your eyes at him, why did he have a sudden interest in Lando and you? "Logan. There is nothing going on between us. I really like my job and would like to not be fired. You don't think HR has some rules set in place or something? Plus I'm not even his type. I'm not a model or some ethereal woman from some foreign country." His grip on your hand had loosened enough for you to turn and continue walking. He still stood frozen for a moment, processing your words and when he realized how far you had gotten ahead of him he had to jog to catch up to you.

"You like him don't you?" He asked as he finally caught up with you. The little locked door in the back of your brain labeled Lando was bursting at the seams, but you did not want to unlock it tonight, especially to Logan. Thankfully you could see the hotel in the distance and you felt no need to answer Logan's prying question. "I'll get it out of you eventually." Logan stated as the two of you entered the elevator.

You just shook your head at your friend as you leaned your head against the elevator walls. The adrenaline from the eventful day was starting to wear off and the tiredness had set in. As the elevator doors opened you looked back at the tall blonde, holding your hand out to him. "You gonna walk me to my room or did I let you dance with me for no reason earlier?"

Logan's eyes widened as he hurried to your side. "Coming!"

You rested your head against his shoulder as the two of you walked down the hall. "I did really have a good time tonight. Thanks for spending it with me. Even if you did steal me from Charles."

"I think me taking you from Charles was more of a favor or dare I say a good deed." Logan joked.

Rounding the corner to your room you heard giggles and shhs. Logan and you exchanged questioning looks, wondering who was being naughty in the hallway. But as you finally made it into eyeshot of your door you stopped dead in your tracks.

It was Lando and some girl you had never seen before, making out against your door. You felt Logan's grip on you tighten as he forced your feet to move with his towards your room. As you got closer the two of them still had not broken apart, only until you spoke up.

"Lando?"

Lando's eyes turned into saucers when he saw it was you standing there, but as they shifted to the right of you, they narrowed at the sight of Logan with his arm still around your shoulder.

"What are you doing?" It was a rhetorical question, anyone knew what they were doing. As you stood there waiting for a response your eyes glanced over to the girl, she was definitely his type, no doubt about it. The longer you looked the more you had wished you guys would have taken a taxi so maybe you wouldn't have had to witness this.

"Well. I can't seem to get into my room." He fumbled with the key card, still clearly drunk. "Stupid key card won't work."

Your eyes moved back to Lando, a small sigh escaping past your lips as you glanced up at the room number by the door. "That's because you have the wrong room. This is my room, 710. Yours-" you pointed down the hall "is down there, 701."

Lando's mouth formed an O shape after realizing what he had done and the random girl and him erupted into a fit of giggles. You tried to hold back the eye roll that was so badly wanting to let go. "Sorry. Let's go.." Lando paused looking at the girl he had pinned to your door seconds ago.

Jesus christ. He didn't even know her name.

"Bella." The girl answered, not even phased at him not knowing her name.

"Right Bella. Let's go." Lando dragged the girl behind him towards his room. He let the girl go in first and before he passed through the doorway, he gave one last look back at you before slamming the door shut behind him.

A loud sigh escaped past your lips as you stood there, staring at the now empty hallway. You had no reason to be jealous, you knew that. There truly was nothing between Lando and you and tonight was a prime example of him showing you he had no interest in you. But dammit, you couldn't lie and say it didn't sting when you saw him with someone else. Even when you try to push away your feelings, try and bury them so deep that you tell yourself you're fine being friends, being colleagues, but you know deep down that the want for something more will always be there. You dug in your clutch for your key card, finally finding it you scanned it. The little light turned green, but as you placed your hand on the handle you hesitated. Your forehead leaning against the previously occupied door.

"I used to like him."

Logan only gave a slight hum as a reply and when you turned your head to look at him, you knew he knew. He gave you a small smile and quick hug before bidding you goodnight.

"Talk to you tomorrow?" You questioned.

"Of course." He stated as he made his way down the hall.

As you entered your room you flung your heels off and grabbed some pajamas. Your open laptop on the desk caught your attention, you could have swore you saved everything and put it up before leaving earlier. Worst case scenario ran through your head as you turned it on, you prayed all your work wasn't gone. As the screen came to life a picture of Lando popped up. It was one of him you had taken before qualifying the day before. He had a cheesy grin on his face and he held up a number 4 on his fingers, one of his signature poses. You saved the picture and put your laptop up before climbing into bed.

Unfortunately for you, sleep did not come easy that night. You couldn't stop thinking about Lando and that girl. You knew you should just let it go, god knows you've seen him with multiple other women, but tonight was the first time you saw it with your own two eyes, in person. The feeling of seeing it actually happen versus seeing it on Twitter was like night and day. When you saw pictures being spread around, sure it was annoying, but you could just get off your phone and suddenly it was gone. Tonight though, was different, the image forever engraved into your mind. Thinking back to standing in the hallway made your stomach turn, it felt like it had officially confirmed that the idea of the two of you ever being a thing was officially dead.

Yet here you were, tossing and turning in bed. Because tonight you had officially let all those locked away feelings out for the first time in forever. You weren't sure if it was seeing him with that girl that did it or just the hinges finally breaking on that door. You just let yourself fully feel, feel every emotion your brain threw at you. Anger, jealousy, sadness, love? Even though you knew the two of you had no chance, you couldn't help but want. You wanted to be the girl he had pinned against your hotel room door. You wanted to be the girl he kissed before and after his races. Fuck you just wanted to be the girl he loved. More tossing and turning ensued and you just couldn't get your mind to shut off. As you glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand the time read 4:04. A dry laugh echoed through the room. 'Fucking number four' you whispered to yourself.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

As Lando awoke the next morning he knew he had made some bad decisions last night. The pounding headache was proof of bad decision number one and the phone number sloppily written on a tissue on his nightstand was proof of number two. He was thankful the girl had left before he woke up, mornings after one night stands were never his strong suit.

His mind wandered to last night as he laid in bed. Perhaps he may have been a little overzealous with his actions. He couldn't help it though, the idea of you not being his drove him crazy. The thought that you was more interested in other guys, especially Logan, always seemed to make him make some not so great decisions. Last night was a great example.

Lando wasn't entirely sure when his feelings for you turned into more than friends. In fact, when he heard they were getting a new photographer he wasn't even that keen on getting to know you. Photographers came and went in this business and a lot of the times he felt like they got in way. Sometimes he just didn't want to have a damn camera in his face, but then he met you.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

February 2023

It was a formal setting, a team meeting before the start of the season. Of course the big topic was his new teammate Oscar, who he had met a couple months beforehand, along with the usual beginning of season talks. Towards the end of the meeting he had noticed a girl sitting in the corner of the room, he could tell she felt like she was out of place. He remembers thinking about how beautiful she was, but as he sat there he couldn't remember her from anywhere. Zak had already talked about who was new this season and Lando prided himself on knowing everyone on the team. So who was this mystery girl?

The meeting had finally ended and people were getting up to leave when Zak spoke up. "Oh yes. Sorry I forgot." He pointed towards the mystery girl. "Everyone this is the new team photographer. Y/N. Please make her feel welcome." Lando remembers a blush forming on your cheeks as you gave the room full of people a smile and small wave. As people filed out of the room Lando hung around, wanting to properly introduce himself to you. He noticed you were gathering your things to leave and he knew now was his window of opportunity.

You had bent down to pick up your bag and by the time you stood back up, there Lando stood, a smile tugging at his lips. You jumped a little, startled at the closeness of him. His smile finally broke free as he stuck out his hand for you to shake. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. I'm Lando." As their hands touched he could have swore he felt the "sparks" that they talk about in the movies, his heart beat racing a little as he really took in all your beauty. Not to mention your perfume (that you still used today) that was making his head spin. "Welcome to McLaren." He was finally able to spit out.

"Thank you! I'm glad to be here."

Your accent made his ears perk up. "An American huh? What made you come all the way over here?"

The blush from when Zak introduced you had never really faded and when Lando mentioned your accent it just deepend. "Well, long story short. I used to work for IndyCar, made some connections with McLaren and now here I am."

Lando heard Zak calling his name from the hallway, he didn't want to end the conversation, but duty called. "Boss is hollering for me. It was lovely to meet you though. I'll see you around yeah?" He was trying not to sound like a douche while also trying not to seem overly enthusiastic. A simple 'see ya' came from your mouth as Lando walked out the door.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

For a about a month after that Lando played it cool. He watched you from a distance, watched as your friendship with Oscar formed. Watched as you did you work, something that he realized very early on that you were amazing at.

Around the three month mark Lando had decided that playing it cool was not his forte. He somewhat felt jealous as he watched his teammate and you joke around or when they would go get lunch without him when they were back at headquarters. Lando wanted to be the one you went to lunch with and joked with. He remembers a conversation Oscar and him had about you once.

It was an off week for racing and that meant a couple days were spent at Headquarters running the sim and creating content for social media. Oscar and you had came back from grabbing lunch. He watched them part ways and as Oscar came towards him Lando raised his eyebrows at him, giving him a questioning look.

"Oh don't even start. You know you can come with us." Oscar stated as he sat down.

"Well someone has to stay here and hold down the fort."

Oscar shook his head as he rolled his eyes at his older teammate, sometimes Lando's dramatics made him seem like the younger one. "Yeah I'm sure the hundreds of other people who work here can manage if Lando Norris leaves the building for an hour to go get lunch." Lando stayed silent, only crossing his arms over his chest as he stared back at Oscar. "You gonna finally fess up to why you've been acting so pissy lately?"

Lando scoffed at Oscar's question. "I just thought I would have gotten a lunch invitation by now."

"Literally told you, you can come with us. Y/N has even asked why you don't come with us." Oscar didn't let Lando respond to his comment. "Although, it is weird to me how distant you are with her. You like everyone on the team and I know you would like her too if you got to know her."

Lando shrugged, not exactly sure what to say back to his teammate. He didn't want to say, yes he knows he would like you, in fact the giant crush he has on you right now is making his stupid play cool decision eat away at his brain. The fact that even from only talking to you when necessary for work he's become enamored with you and your work. How you have a knack for capturing him in a way that no other photographer has before. How he thinks that if he lets himself become close to you that it may be bad for the both of them, but he wants to so bad. But he doesn't say any of that. All he says is.

"Well then let's all do lunch tomorrow."

The rest was history. After having lunch with you and Oscar the next day it seemed like you and him were inseparable. Looking back now Lando could have punched himself for not getting to know you better sooner.

As time went on his feelings grew stronger, but he was too scared to say anything. Too afraid to ruin the amazing friendship you guys had. Too afraid that if he opened his big mouth that things may be too awkward and you would leave your job and him. He had grown to love having a camera in his face, but only if you were the one taking the picture. And to think he might get that taken away just because of a crush destroyed him, so he kept his mouth shut.

It was fine for awhile, he would distract himself with random girls (who always somewhat resembled you) any chance he got. Something perhaps he shouldn't be proud of, but people already expected it from him. So why not live up to the playboy expectations? But he soon realized maybe his actions were hurting him more than helping him. When you started to become closer with some of the other drivers he thought perhaps he was pushing you away from him.

That was the last thing he wanted to do, so he thought maybe the best way to reel you back in was through your one true love; photography. Thus, lando.jpg was born. He wasn't going to lie, you truly had gotten him more interested in photography, but the instagram was started under false pretenses. The way his heart skipped a beat when he got a text from you about it was a little embarrassing to say the least.

you: do i need to break the news to zak that you are quitting racing to pursue photography or are you?

lando: nope. was just inspired by one of the best photographers i know.

you: oh so you're coming for my job?

lando: might need to post some content first before i go applying for jobs.

you: well i better be apart of your first post. considering i was the inspiration.

lando: wouldn't have it any other way.

And to no surprise there you were front and center on lando.jpg. Lando even made sure to make the caption "coming for her job". His sudden interest in photography had you around him more often, something he was beyond happy about. It had even escalated to the two of you hanging out, outside of work hours. As time passed it seemed like you two were just getting closer, but yet neither of you would admit your feelings for eachother.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

In Lando's mind he was content with how you were in his life at the moment, that was until a certain American driver entered yours. To give himself some credit, Lando had been pretty good with his actions lately, he hadn't been messing around with anyone for a good while now, but last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. He wasn't really sure if it was just Logan's actions last night or the fact that the Ferrari drivers couldn't have been more friendly with you either.

To Lando you were his and he never was good at sharing his toys as a child, so why should he have to share the girl he was obsessed with? His only problem though (that he could never seem to internalize) was that you weren't his. You were only his in his mind. And that's why he's lying here in this hotel room, alone, with just a headache and a phone number that will be thrown in the trash later.

He recalled the scene in the hallway last night. Sure he was drunk, but unfortunately not drunk enough to forget the whole thing. In his drunken defense he really did get the rooms mixed up, and maybe he would have eventually realized it. It was just his shit luck that you showed up, with Logan in tow. He remembered his stomach turning at the sight of Logan's arm around you. And now come morning he'd made himself nearly sick at the idea of Logan and you sharing a bed together last night, he wouldn't be surprised if you did though, he figured his actions probably drove you right into his arms.

Lando hadn't even realized what time it was until texts come rolling in asking where he was and how the car was going to leave without him.

Shit.

He had never packed his stuff up so fast in his life and as he walked out the door he knew he had probably forgot something. Speed walking was putting it politely, he was more like running down the hallway. He looked down for a split second to grab his phone out of his pocket and then suddenly he's barreling into something. That something turned out be someone, you to be exact. He hated to say it, but you were the last person he wanted to face this morning, considering their encounter in the hallway last night. But his fuck ups were casted aside as he crouched down to look at you.

"Fuck. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He looked you over, he knew he was like a brick wall, so it had to have hurt when he ran into you.

You rubbed your arm as you looked up at him, his blue green eyes staring back at you with a worried expression on his face. "Goddamn Lando. Watch where you're going." You huffed.

He extended his hands out to help you up and offer you quickly accepted. "I know I'm sorry." He stated sheepishly.

Instead of helping you pick up you bags, Lando took the time to sneak a peek into your room. He wasn't sure what he thought he was going to find. Maybe a naked Logan still under your sheets from last night? But to his relief your room was empty, but he wasn't as quick with it as he thought.

"What are you doing?" You inquired.

His head snapped back to you, your eyebrows raised in question of his actions, your free hand on your hip.

"Just making sure you didn't forget anything." He mumbled out quickly.

An eye roll was all he got back from you as you turned on your heel. Suitcase and bags wheeling behind you down the hall. Lando quickly followed behind you, resembling a lost puppy. As the pair entered the lobby a handful of the other drivers were down there chatting, surely waiting for their cars to arrive. Lando gave some 'heys' as he walked past, there was no time to stop and chat. There were two cars waiting outside the hotel and Lando could see Oscar in the first one. Of course he was already in the car and waiting thought Lando. It was rare for them to all be leaving together. Most of the time they just went their separate ways after a race weekend, but on the rare chances they do have flights together, you always rode in the same car as him and majority of the time they sat by each other on the plane. So he was confused to see you getting into the second car.

After quickly throwing his bags in the back of the first car he trapsed over to the second car, ignoring the shouts from Oscar about missing their flight. The door was still open and as he peered inside the vehicle he'd wished he hadn't. There sat Logan and you, already chatting away. You were practically on Logan's lap with how close you were to him.

Lando cleared his throat, causing the two Americans to look towards him. "Y/N are you riding with me?"

His grip on the door frame getting tighter as he noticed the quick glance Logan and you shared, silence lulling between the three. Your silence already answering his question.

"Actually I'm gonna ride with Logan. He has the same flight too, so it works out." Her words cutting through the silence in the air and he thought that if he gripped the door frame any tighter he was going to leave dents in it.

Perhaps he was pushing you away from him.

"Alright." Lando stated, before what some would say slamming the car door shut.

The look on Oscar's face was the last thing Lando wanted to see when he entered the car. "Shut up." Lando huffed.

Oscar shrugged in response, a small smirk playing at his lips. "I didn’t even say anything!”

Lando rolled his eyes at his teammate, choosing to look out the window as the car started to move. “You didn’t have to. Your face said it all.”

Oscar had been dealing with Lando's hissy fits about you ever since that day he confronted him about going to lunch together. To say Oscar was ready for Lando to either man up and admit to you how he felt about you or move on was an understatement.

He also knew how you felt about Lando. Oscar had a hunch about it just from the way you would look at Lando sometimes. Or the way you would always glance at him when someone had said something funny, guarenting the two of them to be a giggling mess as soon as they made eye contact. Or the way you captured him in photos. Granted you did an amazing job when it came to taking any photos, but you captured Lando in a different way. In a loving way almost, Oscar remembered his girlfriend saying you captured Lando through the female gaze. Something he didn't really get, but clearly it meant something. So when you drunkenly admitted one race weekend how you liked Lando and how conflicted you felt about it all, he wasn't the least bit surprised.

So needless to say Oscar had gotten the rundown on what had occured in the hotel hallway last night from you this morning, infact very early this morning. He was still in bed when your loud pounding on the door woke him up. When he let you in, you just started in and Oscar didn't even say anything, just climbed back into bed as you paced back and forth in front of him. In the same breath you said that Lando is a douchebag, but that you don't care that he was hooking up with random women. Oscar could only let you ramble as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

What Oscar did to get stuck in the middle of his two friends who both clearly wanted each other, but were too stubborn and backwards to just admit how they felt was beyond him. Not to mention one friends solution was to just act like said feelings don't exist. While the other friend can only seem to make things worse for himself, undoubtedly pushing the other person away.

Oscar knew your version of last night, and he knew Lando probably didn't want to relive it, but sometimes stirring the pot was Oscar's only form of entertainment.

“So I take it you don’t want to talk about the hallway incident last night then?”

Lando’s attention averted from the window back to Oscar. “How did you know about that?”

“You forget Y/N’s my friend too-" he debated whether or not to bring up Logan, but fuck it he thought "and so is Logan."

A forced laugh came from Lando. “Everyone just seems to love him don’t they?”

“Maybe Y/N likes him because he doesn’t turn into an ass when she’s around other guys and he doesn't hook up with random women in front of her hotel room.” Oscar knew he was pushing Lando's buttons, something he knew how to do quite well if he did say so himself.

Lando's jaw tensed, what was Oscar’s deal this morning? “Kindly shut the fuck up Oscar.”

Oscar put his hands up in defense. “Just saying. Your actions have consequences. Even if she doesn’t know you're being an ass because you're jealous. I would think, she thinks, you’re just being a shit friend in general. So maybe get yourself in check. Or admit how you feel. Either way something’s gotta give.”

Silence filled the air between the McLaren drivers. Lando knew deep down that Oscar was right, but he would never admit it. To Lando, his self destructive tendencies sometimes made more sense to him than the logical sane ones that Oscar presented him.

No words were exchanged for the rest of the car ride, the Italian pop song playing softly from the radio was the only thing heard. As they boarded the plane Lando still held out some hope that you would sit next to him, like you always did. But that hope was crushed as soon as you sat in the row behind him, with Logan right next to you. His headphones were immediately over his ears, not wanting to hear the two of them the whole plane ride.

The look his teammate gave him as he sat down beside him was one of pity. Maybe he really had fucked up, he had a feeling that things between you and him these past few weeks had been different. But after last night and this morning, there was no doubt their relationship had shifted.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next two races were in Azerbaijan and Singapore and you were still a little on edge from how Lando acted in Monza. Him slamming the door on Logan and you was beyond ridiculous. His attitude that whole night was also beyond ridiculous, especially considering how well he had performed in the race that day. A far cry from how he performed in the most recent two. Your job had been fairly easy on the Lando content aspect. He hadn't even placed in the top ten in Azerbaijan or Singapore, so that meant no extra pictures of podiums or celebrations for him. Which honestly, was fine with you, considering you didn't know if you were going to get asshole Lando or sweet funny Lando. In Singapore you had gotten asshole Lando, which looking back was ten times worse than his attitude in Monza.

You had some free time before qualifying and so you had inconspicuously made your way over to the William's garage. Mostly everyone there knew you by now as Logan and you had become fairly close. Not to mention the bright papaya uniform didn't allow for any blending in to occur. Logan was talking with some of the mechanics by his car when he spotted you, he quickly excused himself and came over.

"What are you doing in enemy territory?" Logan joked.

"I had some free time, came to see if I could figure out some strategies to relay back."

Logan raised his eyebrows a playful smirk developing on his face. "Oh I see. This friendship has just been a ploy all along!"

You raised your hands in defense, laughs coming from the both of you. "You caught me."

The two of you chatted some more, particularly about how excited you were for the next race, which just so happened to be in Dallas. Any chance to be back in the states was one you took full advantage of. It didn't even matter that it wasn't even close to home, it was still home enough to you and you figured Logan thought so too. As the two of you talked about making plans while in Dallas you heard a certain British voice holler your name.

"Y/N!"

Both Logan and yours heads turned towards the voice, the voice that sounded more like a mother hollering at her disobedient child than anything.

There Lando stood, his papaya suit making him stick out just like you and by his tone you already knew which Lando you were going to get. He was stood outside the garage, probably not daring to enter. You mouthed a 'what' at him and he motioned for you to come to him. You shook your head at him, deciding to speak up this time.

"I'm talking to Logan. What do you want?"

He rolled his eyes as he begrudgingly made his way towards Logan and you. "Don't you have work to be doing back at our garage?"

What the fuck? What was he trying to be your boss now? You were sure the look on your face was nothing shy of displeasure.

"What are you talking about? I've done more than enough for today and it's still an hour before qualis." You glanced over at Logan and you could tell he was a little taken aback from how Lando had spoken to you.

Lando's eyes lingered on Logan as he spoke. "Well still don't think you should be hanging around in other teams garages while on the clock." His gaze moved over to you. "Don't you think?"

You so badly wanted to smart off to him, make a snide comment about how badly he had done in the last race in Azerbaijan and how maybe he needed to be the one working. But you didn't, you bit your tongue, figuring it would only make things worse. So you only stated the obvious.

"Did Zak send you to come get me or something? Because last time I checked you weren't my boss."

Before Lando could respond Logan spoke up. "I think I'm gonna leave you guys to-"

Your head snapped back to face Logan, grabbing his arm before he could move. "No. We were having a conversation." As you turned to look back at Lando you could have swore you saw him staring at your hand on Logan's arm, but his gaze flickered back towards you too quickly. "Lando I'll be back at the garage in a little bit. I was talking to Logan before you interrupted and I'd like to finish my conversation if you don't mind." Your tone nothing shy of shitty.

You just wanted him to leave, he was causing somewhat of a scene to the people close by. And thankfully for you he left without a word, only a disgruntled look and a huff as he walked back towards the McLaren garage.

"Sorry." You stated as you averted your attention back towards Logan "I don't know what his problem is anymore. Ever since Monza he's been so fucking bizarre. Always hot and cold, I never know what Lando I'm going to get. It's been making my life a little stressful if you couldn't tell."

Logan glanced at Lando walking away then back to you, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I think I might have a hunch."

Your eyebrows furrowed at his statement. What more could Logan know than you? Not to sound like one of those people, but you clearly knew Lando better than Logan. "What? What is it?"

Logan did the old sealing his lips and throwing away the key gesture. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Oh come on tell me!" You exclaimed, desperately wanting to know what Logan knew.

He quickly changed the subject. "So how about going to a rodeo in Dallas?"

"Logan tell me!"

He only shook his head as you unsuccessfully tried to pry the information out of him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Dallas

A month had passed since Singapore and you had spent your break alone. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. If anything it made you realize you really needed to make friends outside of people at work.

It didn't help when pictures from the Bali trip that a bunch of the drivers had went on, Lando included, started to be posted. Bali had treated him well and you wanted to kick yourself for ogling over the pictures of him. Especially after how moody he's been, but you couldn't help it. His sun kissed skin, his curls in full force from the Bali climate, and that stupid smile (that you loved so much) on his face had you smitten.

The break was over soon enough and you weren't that upset because the end of the break meant that you were coming home for a little bit. Something that you had been looking forward to again ever since Miami.

The warm sun hit your face as you walked around the paddock. Texas in October was still warm and you hoped it wouldn't get too hot today. You were giddy, mainly because of being back in the states, but you also just had a good feeling about the race today. Somehow you knew either Oscar or Lando were going to have a good day today, you had hoped both, but at least one would make you happy.

As you snapped some pictures of the crew around the garage you felt a presence behind you. Though you already knew who it was, that cologne had invaded your senses one too many times for you to forget who donned it. Deciding to let him be the one to say something, you pretended you didn't notice him behind you and took some more pictures.

"Think I might be a better photo subject, don't you think?" Of course the first thing out of his mouth was some cheeky comment.

You merely rolled your eyes, and as you turned to face him you quickly captured an off guard photo of him. Clicking the buttons to look back at the photo you grimaced, turning it around to show Lando. "I think this photo says different."

Lando moved in closer next to you to get a better look. "That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" He exclaimed, laughter laced in his words.

Shaking your head you couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Every good photo subject should be camera ready at all times. This right here proves your statement wrong."

"Yeah whatever."

You had suddenly become hyper aware at just how close the two of you were. Your arms pressed against each other as the two of you huddled around your camera. It had been awhile since you had been in this close proximity to him and you weren't sure if it was that or the cologne but your head was spinning. Your gaze wandered from his big hands that now held your camera, up his arms, then neck, and they finally landed on his face. The tan he had acquired in Bali still glowed in the Texas sun and his curls moved slightly in the breeze. God, you had missed him. You had not only missed him physically, you missed the Lando you were in the presence of right now. The funny and sweet Lando. Not the Lando you had in Singapore.

"Hey can we talk real quick?"

Hearing his voice had snapped you out of the trance you didn't even know you were in. A blush crept onto your cheeks, you only hoped he hadn't caught you staring. You only nodded your head at him, hoping you had heard him correctly.

"I wanted to apologize for how I was in Singapore. That wasn't me back there. I think I was still mentally struggling from doing poorly in Azerbaijan and knowing I would and did do poorly in Singapore just added onto it. So again I'm sorry."

Wow. Where did this Lando come from? You were grateful for him apologizing, but there were still plenty of other things he needed to apologize for.

"Oh. It's okay (even though it really wasn't). Thank you for apologizing though." You weren't going to ruin this now rare good moment with Lando, so you quickly changed the subject. "So how was Bali?"

His eyes lit up. "Oh it was amazing. Wish I could have just stayed there. You would have loved it too, you should have come!"

Well, there was never an invite sent your way, so how were you supposed to have come? Is what you wanted to say, but instead you just said. "Think that might be frowned upon in the workplace."

Lando shook his head. "I doubt it. How was your break though?"

You shrugged, it definitely was nothing like Bali. "Just spent some time at home."

A frown stretched across Lando's face. "Now see, now I really wish you would have came."

You just ignored him, the idea that he was stood here telling you he wanted you to come but couldn't even invite you stung a little bit. So you changed the subject again and the two of you chatted until race time, and for a moment it was just like old times. Lando soon left to prepare for the race and you finished up the crew pictures.

Later as you stood there while the national anthem played you had no idea just how crazy your night was about to be.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

If there was a race Lando was looking forward to the least, he would have to say Dallas. The main reason being he knew Logan and you would be up eachothers asses.

But after some self reflection during the break he had promised himself he would be on his best behavior from now on. Personal life and racing included. He had trained extra hard this past week, running the sim like no other, and trying make up to the team for how badly he had performed in the previous two races. Everyone knew the car was more than capable of performing, it was the driver who was at fault for the poor position. The driver who after Singapore may have went into a spiral after realizing he may have fucked everything up more even more than what he thought after Monza.

Lando couldn't help it, it was like when he saw you with other guys, specifically Logan, his brain short circuited and every promise he had made to himself about behaving went out the window. But after having that moment with you in the garage moments ago he realized he had to keep his shit together. It was the first real carefree funny moment the two of them shared in months. He didn't want to go that long without it again, without you near him, without hearing your laugh that he had caused. So if all you were ever going to be in his life was a friend, Lando guessed he could live with it.

Him living with it lasted until the post race celebrations.

He had tried, really he had. In fact he held up the racing end of his promise by winning. His first Grand Prix win to be exact. In the post race interviews he credited his win to all the extra hard work he had been putting in and of course the team, but his big motivator may have been winning to impress you. Even if he had said he was fine with being friends, he still wanted to show to you that he wasn't the loser that you had seen in the last two races. Show you that in many ways he was better than Logan, and what better way than to win the race both of them were competing in. And the fact that it was an American race was just an added bonus to him. He was grasping at straws at this point, but the little sliver of hope kept him sane, until it didn't.

How a big group of drivers, significant others, and friends ended up at some club, karaoke bar, line dancing, and mechanical bull place all wrapped into one he will never know. But he was sure you had something to do with it. It was a far cry from the places he was used to overseas or hell even in Miami or Vegas, but he had just won the Grand Prix, he was going to have a good time no matter where he was at.

The drinks were going down smooth tonight, and at one point he had lost count of how many he had consumed. It seemed like they just magically kept appearing in front of him, he was constantly being brought drinks or shots from people wanting to congratulate him on his win. At this point he was starting to feel a little unsteady on his feet. Perhaps he may have gone too hard too fast with the alcohol tonight. He wasn't plastered yet, but he was getting there quick. He was about ready to down another shot when his teammate came up behind him. "Think you may need to slow down on the drinking for awhile."

Oscar walked alongside Lando, well more like guided him, towards the karaoke section of the place. Sitting him down at one of the booths as he slid in next to him. Lando slumped forward, his face resting wobbly in his hands. You were seated at the same booth but directly across from them.

"Jesus Lan, we've been here two hours. How much have you had to drink?" You asked.

Lando held up his pointer finger, indicating one.

Oscar and you shook your heads at the curly haired driver. "Very funny." You stated.

Lando now donned a sour look on his face, they had misunderstood his gesture. "No. I'm number 1!"

"Yes Lando you won today." Oscar reassured his teammate.

Oscar and you sipped your drinks while you prayed Lando would sober up enough that you didn't need to be worried about him. The pair was having to either decline the drinks that people were sending over for the winner or drink them themselves. They soon found themselves a little on the tipsy side from perhaps doing the same thing Lando was guilty of moments ago.

"You guys are freaking idiots." Lando mumbled. The once responsible friends that were looking after Lando were now in the same boat as him. Perhaps Lando was slightly more sober than them at this point.

After your second tequila sunrise the idea of karaoke sounded like the best thing ever. You knew Oscar wouldn't be up for it and Lando didn't look the happiest right now, so you searched the place for the one person who you knew would be up for it. You were able to spot him easily, his tall frame making him stand out in the crowd.

"Logan!"

You were tipsy enough to forget that yelling for a person in a loud club did absolutely nothing. And as you yelled again Lando tried to just tune you out, ignore the annoyance and jealousy arising in him over you hollering another man's name. He was supposed to be on his best behavior, but he should have known from before that alcohol and his good behavior don't mix.

You had finally gotten Logan's attention and as Lando saw the American driver walk towards their table he fiddled with his phone. Not even bothering to acknowledge him as he greeted him.

"Will you please do karaoke with me?" He heard you ask Logan and without even looking up he knew you were giving Logan those damn puppy dog eyes that you used to give him when you wanted him to do something for you.

He heard Logan laugh and from the corner of his eye he saw him reach out his hand for you to grab. "Yes, but only for my favorite girl."

Lando's blood ran cold at Logan's use of words. His favorite girl? His? The simple three letter word made his body tense and as the pair walked away Lando finally looked up. He had wished he hadn't as he saw Logan's arm around your shoulder as the two of them walked.

"Mate I thought you had gotten your shit together? I can feel how tense you are from over here." Oscar's speech was clear, he clearly hadn't drank as much as Lando thought.

"I'm perfectly fine." Lando stated as he looked back down at his phone.

"Yeah and my ears didn't pop from the pressure displacement in the air when you heard Logan call Y/N his favorite girl."

Lando did not like that fact that he was trapped in this booth with the one person who could read him like a book. "Can you let me out?"

Oscar scoffed at Lando's question. "You don't want to listen to Y/N and Logan sing? We have an excellent view of the stage." He took another swig of his drink as he eyed his teammate.

Not even twenty seconds later the two Americans took the stage and Lando suddenly found his phone to be more interesting. They had decided to sing some song about saving horses and riding cowboys, whatever it was Lando had tried to tune it out. But when he would hear you laugh in between parts of the song his eyes would venture from his phone up to the stage. He never looked for long, his jealousy getting the best of him when he would see how close Logan and you were. Not even physically, at this point they were clearly emotionally close, perhaps even closer than Lando and you ever were. At least that's what Lando's worst case scenario brain told him.

Lando managed to make it through their karaoke session without blowing a gasket. But as you returned to the table your smile faded as you looked at Lando, who looked less than thrilled as you approached him.

Sliding back into the booth you eyed him. Your mouth working faster than your brain. "Why are you always so unhappy when I'm around anymore? Or when we go out? If you don't want me to come out just tell me." The apology he had given you earlier didn't even exist at this point and the one good moment that you didn't want to ruin from earlier was gone too. You had enough liquid courage in you to finally say what had been eating away at you for months.

Lando was slightly taken aback by your sudden abruptness. He wasn't sure what to say at first. His teeth found the inside of his bottom lip as he tried to choose his words carefully. "I'm not unhappy when you're around, I love having you around. Also, I wouldn't invite you out if I didn't like having you around Y/N." He figured leaving out the mention of him hating when Logan is out with you was a good idea.

You huffed before grabbing one of the shots that had just been dropped off at the table. You downed it easily, slamming the shot glass back down on the table. "Really? Because you sure don't show it."

Oscar was still seated next to Lando, taking sips of his drinks as he watched the two of them go back and forth. He knew this was a long time coming, but he didn't expect to get a front row seat to it.

Lando sat up straight in the booth, suddenly getting defensive. "Why would I not want you around?"

You drummed you fingers against the table as you stared him down. "You always get so pissy when we are out. Like I'm not allowed to have fun or something. Or not allowed to have a little free time while I'm working."

"That's not true." Even though it was.

You rolled your eyes, you clearly were getting nowhere with this conversation and perhaps you should have waited until you both were sober. "You know what nevermind. I should have never brought it up."

Your sarcastic tone went straight through Lando, but he didn't even get a chance to respond back as you had already scooted out of the booth and was lost in the sea of bodies.

"That went well." Oscar stated, but when Lando didn't respond Oscar just kept going. "You remember what I said on the way to the airport in Monza? Either tell you how you feel or get your shit together? You know she's not a confrontational person, so she has clearly had enough of your shit to even bring it up." He took the last swig of his drink and as he got up from the booth he gave Lando one last final warning. "You're gonna lose her and this little conversation the two of you just had was proof enough."

Lando now sat alone in the booth, the only thing surrounding him was empty glasses. How did his nights that were supposed to be filled with celebration and good times always end up filled with drama and regrets? Oscar's words ate away at him as sat there twiddling his thumbs. How much more of this back and forth shit could he take? How much more could you take? Lando scanned the table and found one lonesome shot untouched. He wasn't even sure what it was until that familiar burn hit his throat.

Tequila.

Tequila always seemed to make him make bad decisions, so he knew tonight was either going to end badly or great. Either way he was finally going to man up and tell you how he felt.

It didn't take long to find you, considering you had made yourself the center of attention in the whole place. He heard your laughs before he saw you, but from the crowd of men gathered around the mechanical bull he knew exactly where you were.

He pushed his way to the front and sure enough there you were. When he saw you on that thing he couldn't help but stare. The operator of the machine clearly knew what he was doing, giving everyone a show. The way your thighs clenched onto the sides of the bull to help you stay on. Your ass and tits jiggling when the operator moved the bull a certain way. Not to mention just watching your body sway, you'd think you were a pro at this. Lando's mind started to wonder to how you'd look on top of him and that's when he realized it wasn't just him watching you look like that. You were surrounded by a big group of men, some of them his fellow competitors, that he was sure were also thinking the same impure thoughts as him.

He spotted the Ferrari drivers first, both of them leaning over the railing watching you intently. Then he spotted Logan, eyes wide as he watched your ass shake in the air.

This was the beginning of the end of Lando's good behavior promise. Lando could feel his blood starting to boil, knowing all these men were undoubtedly getting their dicks hard over you. He didn't mean to cause a scene, really he didn't. But before he even realized what he was doing he had jumped the railing and had his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you off the bull. Your legs kicking him and insults flew through the air as you protested his actions. He had carried you towards a relatively empty area and as he sat you down he prepared himself for the fallout of his actions.

"What the fuck is your problem?" You shouted, anger and liquor doing nothing to conceal how you felt.

Lando raised his hands in defense. "Y/N. I was just trying to protect you-"

"Why would I need protecting? Especially coming from you? The way you've acted towards me these past couple months I figured you'd rather me be dead!"

The handful of people who were around had started to stare, if Lando had thought he caused a scene moments ago, it was nothing compared to now.

Lando tried to explain himself. "You should have seen how those guys were looking at you."

You scoffed at his comment. "Well have you thought maybe I wanted them to look? I'm allowed to have a little fun Lando, maybe you should try it sometime. In fact I'm surprised you haven't found your random girl to hookup with on my hotel room door yet." Your words were laced with venom, he had finally pushed you hard enough.

His eyes narrowed at you. "Why are you bringing up what happened in Monza? All I was trying to do was save you from a night filled with fighting off all those sleazy guys. They only wanted one thing from you, especially the other drivers."

Shaking your head at Lando, a laugh escaped past you lips. "Yeah I guess you would know about using women wouldn't you?"

Lando ignored you dig at him, fully knowing what you had said was true.

"I just think you should be careful about who you are friends with. The way Logan was looking at you-" More often than not Lando was quite the hypocrite when it came to his issues with you.

Your jaw tightened at the mention of Logan, there was no reason to bring him into this.

Tonight was the final straw, you had truly had enough. This wasn't a healthy friendship and as much as it pained you, it was becoming more of a reality that this chapter of your life was needing to come to an end. As you cut the McLaren driver's sentence off you knew this may be the last time you spoke to him.

"You know what Lando, you are right. I do need to be more careful about who I'm friends with." You moved closer to him, the two of them merely inches apart, your finger poking at his chest as you spoke. "And he's standing right here."

Lando could have swore all the air left his body as you spoke those five words to him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Surely he had heard you wrong. "You don't mean that." Lando stammered, his eyes never leaving yours, trying to search for a joking gleam in your eyes. But dark, cold, and empty eyes were all that stared back at him.

"I do." You whispered, you hand lingering on his chest, you could feel his heart racing, yours doing the same.

Lando stood there dumbfounded as you walked away. He didn't protest, purely from the fact that he was still processing what had just happened. Had he finally lost you? From the looks of it he had and he hadn't even told you how he felt. Why couldn't he be normal for once? He always had to make everything about him, about how he felt.

He figured at this point what else did he have to lose? He was still going to tell you how he felt about you. Maybe if he was lucky you would feel the same, but with Lando's track record he knew his chances were slim.

You had a good head start on him, but his legs carried him as fast as they could out of the building and down the street towards the hotel. He silently thanked god that there weren't any fans outside the hotel and by the time he reached you room he was out of breath as he knocked on you door.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could you have been so stupid? The tears thankfully hadn't started to fall until you had reached your hotel room, but now as you sat on your bed they wouldn't stop coming.

You knew what you did was the right thing, but you still felt stupid. Stupid for even developing feelings for Lando in the first place, stupid for allowing your relationship to turn into what it had. Why you ever let it get to this point was beyond you. It hurt, god did it hurt, but life teaches you lessons and this clearly was one. As you typed up a draft resignation letter on your phone you heard a rapid knock at your door. You had texted Oscar earlier letting him know you were coming back to the hotel, that things had gone sour between Lando and you. So, you figured that was him coming to check up on you.

But oh boy were you wrong. On the other side of the door stood an out of breath Brit, who was the cause of the tears you were now rapidly trying to wipe away. You had tried to slam the door in his face, but he quickly stuck his foot in the doorframe, a groan coming from him as the door hit his foot.

Good I hope it hurt you thought.

"Y/N please. I need to talk to you." His grip on the door was much stronger than yours and he easily was able to make his way into your room.

"Why so you can shame me or be rude to me or bad mouth one of my friends again? Think you did enough of that earlier." You stood your ground, arms crossed across your chest.

Lando closed the door behind him and as he eyed you he fully took you in. The red puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks. God he had fucked up. "What was said earlier got blown way out of proportion. That's not how I intended for you to take my words."

"It wasn't just what you said earlier Lando, it's been a combination of a lot of other things. I don't know what switched between us, but it's not the same as it used to be. You're an ass to me more than not anymore. I don't know what I did to make you act like that, but you won't have to deal with me much longer. I'm writing my resignation letter. It'll be sent in the morning and I'll be gone."

Lando had started to panic, the realness of the situation they had found themselves in had really started to set in. "No no no no! You don't have to quit your job. You love what you do."

A loud sigh passed your lips, clearly annoyed at him. "Well when the main person I work with can't ever seem to be happy with what I do or associate myself with, then perhaps quitting is what needs to be done." Maybe it was some of the alcohol still in your system or maybe you just wanted to be an ass back to him finally, but the tears had subsided and your mood had turned slightly petty. "Which now that I think about it, why do you care so much about who I hang out with? I mean it's ok for you to fuck any woman with pulse, but I suddenly become close with other drivers and now it's time to slut shame me? Wonder what the press would think about that?"

The smirk that was on you face made Lando irate, you were so fucking stubborn sometimes. All he had wanted to do was come up here and confess how he felt, fix his fuck up from earlier, but now he was riled up again.

"When in the fuck have I slut shamed you? I mean what do you want me to say? That you can go fuck my competitors? If thats all thats stopping you then please don't let me get in your way." Lando regretted his words as soon as they came out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted was for you to go fuck someone else.

That wasn't at all what you were trying to get at. In fact it was the opposite, but if he was going to bring it up, you were going to play along, anything to get under his skin. What better way to hurt a man's ego than to talk about how much you would want to get with his competitors. You grabbed your phone off the bed, unlocking it and scrolling through your contacts. "Maybe I will. I mean I have endless choices don't I? I know Charles would have loved to fuck me in Monza. Or perhaps Logan? You said yourself he was eyeing me tonight. Or maybe Charles and Carlos both? You should have seen how they were with me in the taxi when we were in Monza."

Lando thought he was going to lose his mind, he felt like he was going to break his jaw from how hard he had it clenched. Just hearing you say those things had him on the edge of snapping. "Hmm. I think I'll go with Logan. Think he would know how to please me." Before you could even pretend to start texting him Lando's hand was on your wrist, prying you phone from your hands. His breath labored as he pulled you close to him.

"You are not fucking any of them."

Your eyes widened at his actions, his hands around your wrists, his pupils blown as he stared you down, and the smell of tequila on his breath. The petty joking manner you had moments ago was now long gone.

The angry tension in the air had now transitioned into something foreign, something deeper. And unknown to you but you had been the one to change it.

"Well why not?" You had tried to bring back the previous atmosphere, but the Lando that stood inches away from you was one you had never seen before.

"Because the only driver you can fuck is me."

Your breath caught in your throat at his words. If there was a world record for how fast someone could blush you were sure you had just broken it, except your whole body felt like it was blushing. It radiated through your body directly to your core.

Your mind felt like tv static, you didn't know what to say or do. Lando was still inches away from you, your wrists still tightly in his grasp. "What?" Was all you could muster up and even that was barely coherent.

"Oh come on. You aren't gonna make me spell it out for you are you?" With just a wide eyed blank stare as your response he freed your wrists, but his hands now glided over your arms and shoulders and up to your neck. The feeling of his hands dancing over your skin made your eyes flutter shut. This was far more different than your knees touching or a lingering hug.

This wasn't how Lando had expected to be telling you how he felt, he hadn't even had anything like this one his mind, but you talking so freely about fucking his friends flipped a switch in him. "You gonna make me tell you how I've been obsessed with you since I saw you sitting in that meeting on your first day? How I drove myself crazy trying to distance myself from you, but you're so fucking intoxicating you just kept drawing me back in. How I basically ruined our friendship because I couldn't stand to see you with fucking Logan."

He paused, but still maintained eye contact as he pressed a chaste kiss on your hand. "Is it wrong of me to assume you've wanted me as bad as I've wanted you?" It was almost his way of asking permission to continue, and you granted it easily by letting out a faint 'no'. With that simple word his kisses moved from your hand up your arm and finally landing on your neck. It was somewhat embarrassing how hot and bothered his words and just some simple kisses were making you.

"Or how about how I could only think of you when I got with other women. Wishing it was you I had pressed up against your hotel room door in Monza. How the idea of any other man even looking at you in a sexual way made me want to break their jaw. You want me to tell you how fucking stupid I was for not telling you how I felt sooner. For basically putting us through hell and back because I couldn't keep my shit together when you talked to Logan."

His kisses had gotten sloppier, and he started to pay more attention to your neck. A small moan emitting from you when he found that sweet spot. You could feel his smirk against your neck as your moans filled his ears.

As your mind slowly processed all that he had just said, a lot more things started to click. First of all your inklings about him feeling the same were very much correct. But to think you hadn't put him being an ass because he was jealous of Logan together had you baffled. Usually you were very observant, but clearly not observant enough. You felt like your body was on autopilot as he still worked on your neck, you were supposed to be mad at him, supposed to be leaving him, leaving all the shitty moments behind. But as you stood here now you were glad he had come up to your room. Glad that you didn't fight that hard to not let him into your room. Because even if you had cut him out of your life and left, you knew deep down those feelings for him would never go away. No matter what had happened between the two of you.

Your hands pressed against his abdomen as he was surely giving you something on your neck that was going to need to be covered in the morning. "Wish I would have told you how I felt sooner." Your words were breathy as his hands now wandered up under your shirt. "You weren't the only one being driven crazy. You were-" It was hard for you to focus on your words, your brain only wanting to focus on how good Lando's hands and lips felt on you. "You were constantly fucking with my head, making me think you liked me and then getting with other women. Made me feel like shit when I saw you with them and then you made me feel like shit for months because you're an asshole."

His attack on your neck had halted, the two of you making eye contact once again. Your eyes glanced down at his lips, they were red and swollen, as much as you wanted to hate him, your desire to kiss him was much stronger.

"I know baby and I'm sorry for ever making you feel like that.'

Your eyebrow raised at the term of endearment. "Baby? Moving a little fast there aren't you Norris?"

A smirk had spread across his face. "You've been my baby in my mind for a long time. So forgive me for being eager."

Rolling your eyes at the brunette you linked your hands behind his neck, once again staring at his lips. "You gonna finally kiss me or do I need to go find Logan?"

The mere mention of the American had Lando pulling you into him, your lips meeting in an instant. It took a second for your brain to catch up, but once it did you practically melted into him. You had thought for a long time what it would feel like to kiss Lando, and you were happy to say it was better than you had imagined. His right hand was cupping your face while his left held onto your side. If you were weak in the knees before you surely were now as the two of you pulled away from each other, grinning like idiots. "Why did we deprive ourselves of this for so long?" You asked as your thumb caressed his cheek.

Lando leaned into your touch. "I don't know. I guess we both like to suffer." He gently removed your hand from his face placing an open mouth kiss to your palm. "I still need you to know how sorry I am for being such an ass. Let me show you how sorry I am you." He started to trail kisses back up your arm and you honestly didn't need any convincing. With a simple 'ok' from you Lando's lips were back on yours as he leaded you back towards your bed, your lips never separating.

The back of your knees hit the end of the bed causing you to fall back onto the bed. Using your forearms to prop yourself up you stared back at the driver who was stood at the end of the bed. He kicked off his shoes and his shirt was being pulled over his head in a matter of seconds. He didn't even give you time to gawk at his toned abdomen before he was climbing onto the bed, his chain dangling over you as your lips reconnected. Wrapping your fingers around the chain you pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Your need for him growing more and more by the minute. The desire for his touch consumed you and as you started to squirm under him you heard a soft laugh come from him.

"That needy huh?" His teasing tone causing the aching throb between your legs to intensify. With only a whine coming from you as a response he looped his fingers through your belt loops, slightly tugging on them. "Which should come off first? Pants or shirt?"

You were in no mood for his teasing, the idea of having to wait any longer for his hands to be on you again sounded like torture. "Both."

"Both? That's my girl."

My girl repeated in your head as you struggled to get your shirt off. Those two simple words causing your arousal to grow even more and as he pulled off your pants you sure you had already soaked your panties. But Lando wasn't focused on that yet, to his surprise when he looked up to see you taking off your shirt, you hadn't worn a bra. Your breasts were already on full display. "Jesus." He groaned as he climbed his way back up to you. "Should have known you didn't wear a bra tonight the way your tits were bouncing on that bull." He wasted no time, immediately placing his large hands on them. As he pinched and tugged one nipple with one hand, his mouth had found its way onto the other. It was a sight you couldn't tear your eyes away from, something you only dreamed about. A whimper escaped past your lips and Lando could have died right there a happy man as your whimpers filled his ears.

As much as you were enjoying the pleasure he was giving you, it was creating a much bigger need someplace else. If your panties weren't soaked earlier, they definitely were now. The aching between your legs was becoming almost unbearable. Your hands found there way to his hair, fingers running through his messy curls. "Lan." You breathed out. His actions halted at the sound of you calling for him, blown pupils staring up at you.

"What baby?" No audible response came from you, but when he saw you clench your thighs he knew exactly what you wanted. "Oh, I think I know what you want." His fingers trailed from your breasts all the way down to the waistband of your panties, his fingers toying with it, gently snapping it against your skin.

"Thought you weren't gonna be an ass anymore?" His teasing making you crazy.

Even though he was looking down you could see the smirk on his face, the little shit was enjoying every minute of making you squirm. You watched as his hands landed on your thighs and in one swift motion they were hooked under your knees and he had pulled you even closer to him, causing your legs to be wide open for him.

Lando felt his dick twitch at the sight of your soaked panties, and once he pulled them off he thought he had died and gone to heaven at just how fucking wet you were, from him. He hadn't even properly touched you yet and you were already a mess. His hands masssaged you inner thighs and ghosted around the area you wanted him the most. "God, you're gonna be the death of me. You know how fucking soaked you are?" He took a single finger and quickly ran it up your slit, your wetness that lathered his finger quickly entered his mouth.

Your skin was on fire from just that his one little action, and as you watched him suck your wetness from his finger you thought your heart was gonna beat out of your chest. "Lan please."

"Please what?"

You threw your head back in frustration, he had to be getting off on this. "I want your mouth" you glanced down at his long thick fingers that had found a home on your thighs once more "and your fingers."

"Whatever my girl wants." He scooted down on the bed and as he lowered his head between your thighs the pit in your stomach grew. He wasted no time in getting to work, or in finding your clit. As he gently sucked on the sensitive bud you couldn't hold in your moans. The boy was a fucking expert with his tongue and from the way he was devouring you, you could tell he was enjoying it. Your fingers grabbed his curls as he fucked your hole with his tongue, his nose brushing against your clit. It was embarrassing how fast he had you close to coming undone. Your chest heaving as you felt your orgasm coming, and he hadn't even used his fingers yet, but almost like he knew what you wanted, you felt two fingers slide inside of you. Your moans getting louder as he still worked your clit and finger fucked you at the same time. When he added a third finger and curled his fingers, reaching that soft spongy spot, your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

He had raised his head to look up at you, a smirk splayed across his glistening face, covered in your slick. "That's my pretty girl. Come on, I know you're close. Gonna come all over my fingers and face aren't you."

His words of praise went straight to your core and as you clenched around his fingers a small laugh came from him. "Someone likes to be praised." You couldn't even be bothered to give him a witty comment back, you were on the edge of coming undone. His mouth went back to work and in a matter of seconds you were unraveling beneath him. Your legs shook as he still worked you through your orgasm. His name tumbling out of your mouth like a chant.

Your breathing was labored as you tried to come down from your high. Glancing down at Lando, he had never looked hotter to you than right now. His face and fingers covered in you, his hair a mess and lips swollen from him devouring your pussy. And the mess between your thighs that was caused by him, had you craving more.

Lando's erection was painfully throbbing at this point, still trapped behind his boxers and jeans. How he didn't just blow his load at the sight of you unraveling because of him, he wasn't sure. But one thing he did know was that he needed to be inside you, immediately. "I know you're still coming down but I need you so badly." His hands fumbling with the button on his jeans.

You simply shook your head at him, hands reaching out to help him get his pants off. "I don't care what you do as long as you can make me come like that again."

The words of praise went straight to Lando's cock, he truly didn't think he had ever been this hard in his life. The way you were looking up at him through your lashes as you toyed with the waistband of his boxers had him groaning. "Y/N stop."

A look of innocence spread across your face. "What? I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine." Your hand brushed past his still clothed erection and the whimper that came from him was like music to your ears. You soon granted him relief has you tugged his boxers down, his cock slapping against his stomach. Your eyes widened as you took all of him in. He was clearly blessed with not only good size, but girth. The mere thought of him stretching you out had you practically drooling.

You wanted to please him the same way he had you, but you had barely rubbed your thumb over his tip before his his large hand wrapped around your wrist, halting your actions. "I really just want to be inside of you."

Not one to oblige you scooted back on the bed, head resting on the pillows as you watched him come towards you. The anticipation was killing you and as he rubbed his tip between your folds it had only made it worse. "You know how beautiful you are? Think you might be even more beautiful when you take my cock won't you baby?"

Eagerly nodding at his words you couldn't take your eyes off his cock as his tip teased your entrance. You knew he was going to be a tease, so you rolled your hips towards him, patience not being your strong suit when it came to him. "That hungry for my cock huh?"

In one swift motion he had pushed himself in you, completely bottoming out. "Oh my god!" It had caught you off guard, even with how wet you were it still hurt a little as his cock stretched you out.

You hadn't even realized you had clenched around him until he spoke up. "Fuck. I'm not gonna last long if you keep doing that." His face scrunched up in pleasure.

"Sorry." You stated, pressing a kiss to his forearm.

Lando had started to move his hips and as the first waves of pleasure jolted through your body you couldn't help but think this is not how you saw your night going when you woke up this morning.

The room was filled with a mix of both yours and Lando's moans and the sound of slapping skin. You weren't trying to be dramatic, but you truly thought Lando's cock was made for you. The way he filled you up just right with each stroke was making your head spin.

Still sensitive from your first orgasm, you could feel yourself getting close again, the familiar pit in your stomach growing as he pounded into you relentlessly. The pleasure overwhelming you. But just at the brink of coming undone for the second time tonight he abruptly pulled out.

"You've got to be jok-"

He lightly slapped your thigh. "Ass up."

He didn't have to tell you twice as you quickly flipped over, face buried in the pillows, back arched with your ass in the air. The cool air on your now very exposed pussy sent a shiver down your spine.

Lando was enjoying the view as he lightly toyed with your clit earning a muffled moan from you. His hands gripped your waist to enter you once more when something in the corner of the room caught his eye. Gathering your hair into a makeshift ponytail with one hand and the other under your stomach he pulled you up and back towards him until your back was flush against his chest, practically sitting in his lap. His still very prominent erection rubbing between your folds. As he positioned the both of you to face the corner of the room that's when you saw it.

Your reflection staring back at you. The horny little shit wanted to fuck you in front of the mirror. You couldn't lie the thought of it was hot. So, you took the initiative, as you raised your hips you took his cock in your hand, lining him up with your entrance.

The both of you watching in the mirror as you sank down onto him. The image right up there with Lando eating you out as one of the hottest things you'd seen. A string of curse words was heard from Lando and all you could do was grip his legs as you felt him buck up inside you.

As you rolled your hips you couldn't tear your eyes away from the mirror and neither could Lando. The new position allowing for him to feel even deeper inside you, if that was possible. One of his hands reached around and started to rub your clit, the added pleasure causing your eyes to flutter shut.

"Nope. Open your eyes pretty girl. I want you to watch."

When you didn't open them he told you again, but when you didn't open them the third time, his other hand was now suddenly wrapped around your throat. His large hand easily covering the front of your throat. The slight pressure he applied to the sides of your throat caused your eyes to fly open, but combine that with you riding his cock and his other hand still working on your clit you were once again on the brink of an orgasm. The sight of you in the mirror was nothing less than pornogrpahic and if Lando could, he would have taken a picture.

The feeling though was gone again, in a matter of seconds. He had basically thrown you off his cock, then pulled you off the bed, the both of you now directly in front of the mirror. You were impressed with Lando's stamina and you knew from him practically edging you (and himself) twice now, when he finally did let you come it was going to be mind blowing.

He had you bent over, hands gripping the sides of the mirror, as he spread your legs. This time there was no teasing your clit, he wasted no time, his cock slamming into you as soon as your legs were spread. His thrusts were relentless, you weren't sure if you would even be able to walk tomorrow. But from the way his fingers were gripping your waist you for sure knew there would be bruises there tomorrow. Your moans only encouraging him more as he slapped your ass, the sting only adding to your pleasure.

"God, look at you. Taking my cock like that. Who else can fuck you like this huh? Make you an absolute mess?"

You were too fucked out to respond, your legs feeling weak as you watched him in the mirror. Lando's hand reached around towards you neck, finding its previous home from moments ago. "I said who else can fuck you like this?" He gave your throat a light squeeze.

"No one. Only you." You finally mustered up, brain too consumed by pleasure to actually form a sentence.

You watched as the smirk formed on his face at your words. "There's my good girl." Your pussy fluttering at the pet name, which in turn earned a 'fuck' from Lando.

His other hand reached down to your clit, once again giving it some attention. As your orgasm approached you prayed this would be the time he finally would let you come. Your whimpers a telltale sign to Lando you were ready. "Gonna be a good girl and come for me? Come on baby. Let everyone know who's making you feel this good. Want everyone to know your mine."

With his words of praise your orgasm washed over you, hard. The pleasure was so intense you couldn't even hold yourself up anymore. Your body convulsing as your ears started to ring. Lando's name echoing out of your mouth in a less than quiet volume. It didn't help that he was still fucking you through your orgasm, the overstimulation bringing you almost to tears at how good it felt. Lando came seconds later, hot sticky cum filling you up. Profanties mixed with your name bounced around the room as he milked every ounce out of his orgasm.

As he pulled out a whimper came from you at the sudden empty feeling, while a groan came from him at the sight of his cum leaking out of you.

Lando basically carried you back to the bed, afraid your legs would give out if you tried to walk. His arms immediately wrapping around you as you rested your head on his chest. "Think I accomplished your request didn't I?" Lando asked with a smirk on his face. His fingers rubbing gently circles on your back.

"You did more than accomplish it Norris. I think everyone in the hotel knows that." A blush creeping onto your cheeks at the fact that you were not so quiet moments ago.

"Poor Oscar." Lando laughed. Oh god, you had forgotten Oscar's room was right next to yours. "Actually don't worry about it. He should be happy we are finally together."

Raising your head to look at him you gave him a questioning look. "Together? I never remember getting asked anything. Only being told I could only fuck you."

Lando rolled his eyes at your dramatics. "Yes and that statement still stands." His free hand cupped your cheek, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. He hadn't planned for tonight to go the way it did, but as he laid here in bed with you in his arms he wouldn't have it any other way. He wanted this all the time. "In all seriousness. I do want you to be mine. My girlfriend."

You would have never thought you'd be in this position. It had been a tough couple months for the two of you and just hours ago you were ready to erase him from your life as best as your could. But you still loved him, even more now if that was possible.

"Well it's a good thing I want you to be mine too huh?" His eyes lit up at your words, smiling for ear to ear. His lips were on yours in an instant, something you don't think you'll ever get used to. "Even though you were an asshole." You said as you pulled away.

Lando let out a sigh. "Well I guess I'm still gonna have to show you how sorry I am aren't I?" His cheeky expression not matching his tone of voice.

"I think so." You stated as your lips met once again.

An ignored text alert sounded off from the bedside table of the two lovers. It wouldn't be read until morning, laughter coming from Lando as your cheeks turned red.

Oscar: well I'm glad I'm not in the middle of whatever the hell that friends to crushes to miserable fucks to enemies shit you two had going on anymore. but please for the love of god remind me to never take the room by either of you again!!!!!!

[gemville]

Bibi van der Velden 'Crashing Waves' Necklace In 18k White and Rose Gold With South Sea Baroque Pearls, Olive Green Enamel and Diamonds

Retail: $90,000

Source: jckonline.com

[incorrect-hs-quotes]

KARKAT: I CUT MY FINGER ON MY CHEX MIX????

ERIDAN: pathetic faggot injury if i evver saww one

KARKAT: MAN. COME ON

[bamsara]

Genuinely. Not asking for a new update on anything. How long does it take to write you a chapter is the stars align and you have a time? Because your chapters are long and you pumped out 4 COTL chapters in like a month and they all have the same level of quality and I'm here impressed and worried

[littlealienproducts]

1960's turquoise "cat" brooch in 18K yellow gold by AFTrading

[jaxplaysthesims]

golden hour is her favorite hour ❀

[tokkias]

cuffing season ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia summary: Just as the blossoms bloom in the spring, so too does love, and Lucy finds herself falling as naturally as the golden leaves in the autumn. word count: 18,342 ao3

i. autumn

The warm summer months bring with them a surge of job postings tacked upon the board at the guild, which always have everyone eager to get in on the Jewel rush before settling down as the temperature begins to drop with the change of seasons. Combined with the way that the party seemingly never stops at the guild during the summer, it makes Lucy almost glad to see the leaves begin to turn into hues of brown and gold, signalling the change in the season.

It's not that she doesn’t appreciate the way the money flows in, keeping her in her apartment for at least another few months with a little Jewel spare on the side to keep her materialistic cravings at bay, or even the way that her new family can party well into the night in an alcohol-fuelled frenzy. There’s just something about the way the leaves began to fall that makes her fond of the season. It feels indicative of new beginnings and things to come.

The maple in her drink is sickly sweet on her tongue as she pushes through the guild hall doors. She lets in a breeze as she does so, but the scarf draped over her protects her skin from the chill, and she can’t help but smile at the indication of fall. There’s something different about it this year that she can’t quite put her finger on yet, but she feels it in the air and sees it in the stars.

The world has something big in store for her. She’s not sure what, but she knows it’s going to be something special. All she has to do is wait.

☆♡☆♡

A gentle gust of wind blows a smattering of leaves onto the path ahead of them, and Natsu makes it his mission to go out of his way to step on a few, letting them crunch beneath his shoe. The satisfying noise spurs him to do it again, and again, and again, leaving no leaf left uncrunched. A soft giggle leaves Lucy’s lips as he rushes ahead of her, and it’s only at that point does he realise he’s left her behind. He turns around to face her, his head cocked slightly to the side at her sudden reaction.

“What?”

"Nothing, it’s just…” She trails off, not knowing if she really wants to share her thoughts with him.

Her vague reaction only adds to Natsu’s curiosity.

“Just what?”

“I don’t know; I thought it was kind of cute,” she shrugs.

“I’m not cute,” he grumbles, burying his face in his scarf.

His bashful reaction makes her breathe out a soft laugh, as he only proves her point further.

Another breeze passes them by, though this time Lucy is the one to bear victim to it. Her skin raises with goosebumps as the cold air hits her. She rubs her hands up and down the exposed skin of her arms as her teeth chatter slightly, and suddenly, she begins to regret not bringing along a coat. Her ailment doesn’t go unnoticed by Natsu, who glances over at her, noting the pitiful way she tries to warm herself up.

“You wouldn’t always have this problem if you wore seasonally appropriate clothes for once,” he comments.

“I know that,” she spits back. “I just… didn’t think it would be this cold already.”

The heat that comes from the friction of rubbing her hands against her skin helps a little, but it’s the feeling of Natsu’s jacket being draped over her shoulder that warms her body and her heart.

“O-oh, thank you.”

Her face flushes slightly under his gaze as he looks at her expectantly, waiting for her to put it on. She slips her arms through the sleeves, though with the garment being much too big for her, the ends dangle well past her hands, and she feels as though she looked a little ridiculous. That thought is confirmed when she hears Natsu cackle at the sight of her.

“Don’t laugh!” she pouts, bunching the sleeves up at her wrists.

“I gave you my jacket; I get to laugh all I want.”

Lucy merely huffs in response, not wanting to lose her jacket privileges. She supposes she can take ridiculous over cold.

☆♡☆♡

It’s been a while since Magnolia has seen a “normal” harvest festival. Between the battle of Fairy Tail, the seven years they were away on Tenrou, and the year of the disbandment, Lucy has yet to experience the festival in its purest form. Upon being reminded of this fact, Natsu has taken it upon himself to drag Lucy around the city to show her the highlights of the festival.

She’s honestly not too certain what the purpose of a harvest festival is, but what she does know is that the guild and city take it as an excuse to set up stalls and stands of every kind leading up to the big parade at the end of the day.

Lucy isn’t at all surprised when the first thing Natsu does is make a b-line for the food stalls. They line the streets with different autumnal meals and snacks, and her partner looks eager to try any and all of them. It’s been a few hours since breakfast, so she is more than happy to justify treating herself. A candy apple isn’t really a lunch food, but when Natsu holds one out for her, she is hard-pressed to say no. It’s so sweet that her teeth ache when she bites into it, but it tastes so good that she doesn’t even care.

Everything is happening everywhere, in every part of town. Décor lines the streets, and happy chatter fills her ears. It’s all a little overwhelming for Lucy, who simply follows Natsu as he drags her around. He seems familiar enough with it, but it’s been so long since he’s been that he is equally fascinated with all of the sights and sounds.

She shouldn’t be surprised when he drags her over to an apple-bobbing set-up—his fierce competitiveness fuelled by the promise of a tacky looking plastic trophy for those who succeed.

He puffs up his chest and declares that he’s going to win that damn trophy. He talks a big talk, but Lucy isn’t certain that apple bobbing is one of his many talents.

As soon as he gets the go-ahead, he violently dunks his head in the water, half of the water overflowing the bucket before all of it gushes out like a tidal wave when Natsu breaks it with his shoulder. Despite the interruption, he remains strong in his mission to win the trophy and goes for a bright red apple that has yet to roll away in the mess of it all. By the time he gets it, he’s absolutely sopping wet, bangs dripping down into his eyes, which he proceeds to shake out like a dog, keeping the apple firmly in his mouth as he sends droplets flying at everyone in the general vicinity. The sight of it is so ridiculous that Lucy bursts out into laughter immediately. Natsu remains undeterred by her reaction, grabbing onto his apple with one hand and holding it in place as he takes a bite. As he chews, he holds the rest of it up in victory while Lucy laughs and claps, and he absolutely revels in her praise.

“Alright! Where’s my prize?” He demands, bits of chewed-up apple flying everywhere as he speaks.

“There is no prize,” the stall host replies as he flinches away and out of the splash zone.

“What?” Natsu exclaims, his face immediately dropping from one of celebration to one of borderline anger. “I was promised a prize!”

“You broke the barrel!”

Lucy, sensing impending destruction if she doesn’t intervene soon, grabs Natsu by the wrist and drags him away. He doesn’t put up a fight, which is much more than she could have asked for, but he does grumble under his breath as they walk away.

She buys him a treat from one of the stalls on their way out as a consolation prize (not another candy apple; it’s too soon and she worries it might hit a sore spot), and Natsu happily takes her sympathies.

☆♡☆♡

Lucy isn’t exactly sure how she let Natsu rope her into this. Sure, she likes pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice, but carving pumpkins? That’s a little out of her comfort zone. But still, here she is, sitting in the guild hall, a plump, orange pumpkin and a set of carving tools set out before her. It’s part of a guild-wide competition but she has little confidence in her ability to take part because she really has no idea where to even begin.

“I don’t even know how I’m supposed to do this,” she states bluntly.

“Here, lemme show you,” Natsu replies, grabbing his tools and pumpkin before getting to work.

She watches intently as Natsu uses one of the knives to cut a hole in the top of it before reaching in to remove the seeds on the inside. Lucy scrunches her nose as he guts the pumpkin, pulling out all the seeds and wet, stringy pieces. Immediately sensing her discomfort, Natsu takes full advantage to torment her with it, invading her personal space with a handful of pumpkin flesh. She tries to smack his hand away, but her reaction only goads him on more, and he shoves it in her face, letting the seeds fall onto her skirt. Lucy shrieks in horror, shoving his hands away from her, and based on his howling laughter, she figures that’s the exact reaction he was going for.

“You are such a pain!” She cries as she wipes the pumpkin off of her skirt, examining the spot that it has left on the white fabric.

"Aw, come on, it’s just pumpkin,” he grins, knowing exactly what he’s doing.

“If you’re going to be annoying, I’ll just get someone else to help me,” she huffs, arms crossed as she turns her nose away from him.

It’s an empty threat; she has no intention of finishing carving out her pumpkin, let alone actively seeking help from someone else, but she knows that the threat of it will wind Natsu up. Based on the way he’s been doing it to her, she thinks it’s only fair.

"Hey, c’mon Lucyyyyy,” he whines. “Here, I’ll be good. It’s fun, I promise.”

Lucy caves quickly to his pleas and drops her act, letting her arms fall to her side before she looks back over at him. He’s got that familiar goofy smile plastered across his face, and even though she rolls her eyes at it, she can’t help that she’s smiling back at him.

He manages to demonstrate the proper techniques well enough that she feels confident going in herself, copying the actions he takes.

“Have you done this a lot?” She asks as she makes her first cut.

“Yeah, we used to do it all the time as kids,” Natsu replies. “Gramps put a stop to it when Erza and Mira tried to stab each other, though.”

She breathes an airy laugh at his comment. She’s heard all of the stories of what their beloved barmaid was like as a teen but she still can’t imagine the she-devil picking a fight with Erza, armed with a carving knife.

What she can imagine, however, is that she has not been the first victim of Natsu and his slimy pumpkin innards. She squirms a little as she guts it, but it’s not as bad as she originally thought, and she’s steadily making progress.

She’s cutting it close by the time she finishes. Most of the participants are already finished by the time she does, and when she finally places hers next to the rest, she’s a little embarrassed by its sloppy simplicity.

Natsu finishes not too long after she does, and he approaches from behind with his own entry. He’s been hiding his from her the whole time, claiming it to be a “surprise” for when he’s finished, and she’s been more eager to see his finished one than her own.

It’s not until he finally places it down on the judging table that she gets anything more than a brief glimpse of it for the first time. It’s got two little whiskers on each side, two ears, a little button nose, and two wide eyes. Immediately it clicks in her mind what it’s supposed to be.

“It’s Happy!” She cries out in delight.

Natsu gleams with pride as she’s immediately able to pinpoint where his creativity led him.

Looking at her own next to the rest, she decides that it’s not very good, but she’s happy she participated, even if she made it nowhere in the final rankings.

It comes as no surprise when Reedus takes home the grand prize, but that doesn’t stop Natsu from grumbling about it the whole walk home.

“I thought yours was great,” she offers, running a hand across his back in an attempt to comfort him, because she did. It was cute, and silly, and completely Natsu.

He seems to perk up at the compliment.

“I thought yours was great too,” he replies with a grin plastered across her face.

“Alright, you don’t need to lie to make me feel better,” Lucy snorts.

“I’m not lyin’! You did really good for a first try.”

She simply smiles back at him, her heart beginning to race just a little bit faster in her chest as their eyes lock.

“Thanks for teaching me.”

“Any time.”

☆♡☆♡

It’s quiet on the train, save for the soft rumble of the wheels against the track as the carriage sways side to side, which either means that Natsu has fallen asleep or that he has simply given up complaining about it. Lucy cares for Natsu a great deal, but she appreciates the peace that his uncharacteristic silence affords her. The book she has bought along for the journey has long since lost her interest, and now she is content to sit and watch the world pass by. Vast woodlands have felt the touch of autumn, their leaves a million shades of orange, gold, and yellow. They're obscured by the droplets of rain which are pelted against the glass. It isn’t the ideal weather for the job they're taking, but she is more than willing to enjoy it while safely tucked away in the carriage.

When she looks down at him, her suspicions are confirmed, as his eyes have fluttered closed and his chest rises and falls with his steady breathing. Her hand rests gently on his head, and her fingers begin to absentmindedly trail through his hair. He likes when she does that—or at least, she assumes he does. He’s never really in the state to tell her when she does it, but he never complains about it. Secretly, she likes it too. His hair is softer than one might expect, but that’s because he’s a little rascal who’s constantly stealing her shampoo. She doesn’t mind so much; she finds it endearing, if anything. He likes it because it smells like her—something he admits unabashedly and without shame, and hearing him say it makes her inside twist up in knots, but it’s the good kind, the kind that makes her feel like she could take on the world.

She never knew what to make of that feeling; couldn’t ever quite place her finger on what it meant.

She thinks she understands now; she’s just not quite sure what to do about it.

☆♡☆♡

The town that they’ve taken their most recent job in is a boisterous one, and once their obligations are out of the way, the trio takes full advantage of the local market before they’re back off to Magnolia. The market sprawls as far as the eye can see, and there’s a stall for anything and everything. Lucy and Happy split off earlier, leaving Natsu to meander between the stands, eyeing up all the trinkets and tchotchkes that he could take home as a souvenir.

He finds himself taken with a stall that displays various crystals and jewellery. Small signs that label each stone sprawl on about the spiritual powers that each of them holds, but Natsu doesn’t care about any of that. All he sees are cool, shiny rocks, and suddenly his dragon instincts kick in. His eyes graze over the jewellery section of the stall. He’s not much of a jewellery guy, but the shine of the various metals is enough to capture his attention.

Hung up on one of the display stands is a pair of gold earrings—a cluster of stars dangling down from the hooks with rhinestones encrusted in every other star, making them reflect the light when they catch the sun in just the right way. Immediately he is reminded of his partner, and he can’t help but think they really would suit her.

“Hey, how much for the earrings?” He asks the man attending the stall, gesturing to the pair that caught his eye.

“3000 Jewel.”

He pauses to think about it for a moment, but then he reaches in his bag for his wallet. It’s pricey, but with the full reward for their last job, he thinks he can swing it. He hands over the cash, and in exchange, the owner hands him the earrings, placed in a little drawstring bag so they don’t get snagged.

“Is this for your girlfriend?” the man asks.

“Something like that,” Natsu muses as he tucks the bag away in his pocket for later.

It doesn’t take him long to catch up with his partners, easily finding them within the crowd as though he has a built-in sensor just to find Lucy, though the presence of the blue exceed hovering around her probably helps just a bit.

“Did you find anything good?” Lucy asks as he approaches the two.

“Nah, not much,” he shrugs. “You?”

“There was a stall that was selling antique books!” She excitedly shares. “They were a bit out of my price range though,” she adds, her demeanour waning slightly at the thought of leaving back for Magnolia without anything.

“Next time?” Natsu suggests.

“Yeah, next time.”

☆♡☆♡

ii. winter

Winter peeks its head in at the tail end of autumn, making Lucy shiver when she sheds her jacket as she seats herself down at the guild bar. There’s a mug of hot cocoa already sat in front of her, courtesy of Mira, and Lucy gives her a smile and nods in thanks before taking a sip, letting the heat of the drink warm her from the inside.

“Winter sure has come early this year,” Mira singsongs as she collects the dirty glasses from those who have decided to find their morning warmth at the bottom of a glass of whiskey. “Do you have any plans for the season?” she asks as she busies herself with dirty dishes behind the bar.

Lucy looks down at her mug, watching the bubbles float around on the surface as she considers telling Mira what’s on her mind.

“Well… Sort of,” she murmurs.

“Sort of?” Mira repeats, her curiosity piqued by Lucy’s vague answer, “Do tell~”

“I just think that maybe this winter is the one where I can finally settle down with someone,” she admits to the barmaid.

Settling down has always been one of Lucy’s long-term goals, but since joining the guild, the idea of a romantic relationship has been pushed to the side. She loves what she does, but her occupation makes finding a relationship difficult and maintaining one even harder. Few of the wizards in the guild are in relationships, and of the ones that are, most of the successful ones are contained within the guild. Despite that, Lucy is determined to see the start of her fantasy whirlwind romance as cuffing season swiftly approaches.

"Oh, how sweet,” Mira replies, holding her face in her hands as she rests her elbows on the counter top.

Lucy’s one-on-one conversation with Mira is cut short upon the approach of her partner, who takes up residence on the bar stool beside her.

“What’s up?”

“Lucy wants to start dating~” Mirajane coos with hearts in her eyes at the prospect of a new romance.

“What? Why?” He sounds almost offended by the idea, his face scrunched up in disgust.

Romance is not a frequent topic of discussion between her and Natsu, and even though she knows him better than anyone, Lucy isn’t exactly sure how he might react to learning that she wanted to get into the dating scene. This, however, is certainly not what she was expecting. She doesn’t dignify him with an answer; instead, both curious and a little hurt at his reaction, she pries for answers.

“Why do you seem so against the idea of me dating someone?” She asks, folding her arms across her chest in defence.

“Because—” He pauses as though to find the right words. “Because guys are stupid, and none of them will treat you right.”

“Wh—that’s why you’re upset?”

“I’m not upset,” he grumbles, averting his gaze.

“Really? Because you look upset to me.”

"Well, I’m not,” he repeats, firmer this time.

At some point, Mira has slinked away, leaving just the two of them alone for their little squabble.

“I don’t need your permission anyway; I can date whoever I want.”

“Fine. I don’t care,” he grumbles, a pout evident on his face that gives his true feelings away.

“Why are you being so petulant?” She asks, frustration beginning to seep into her voice at his childish behaviour.

“I’m not being petulant,” he spits back, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

Lucy rolls her eyes, quickly picking up on the reason for his uncharacteristic articulation. “Do you even know what petulant means?”

“I don’t have to know what it means to know that I’m not being it,” he practically growls.

He’s been avoiding her gaze the whole time, but when he finally looks at her, his eyes are angry, and suddenly all the frustration in her turns to hurt, and her heart shatters inside her chest.

It’s a look she’s seen on his face many times but never directed at her, and she doesn’t understand why. It’s stupid and it's none of his business in the first place, so why is he acting like this?

She doesn’t want to dwell on it any longer. She doesn’t want to stay and talk, to try and get the answers out of him. She’s barely holding back tears when she wordlessly stands up and storms out of the guild hall.

He doesn’t call after her as she leaves, and something about that makes it hurt even more.

☆♡☆♡

About a week has passed since their spat, and Lucy has seen Natsu maybe three times since then and spoken to him even less. In that time, he had taken on a job without telling her, with Lucy only having found out from Mira, who shot her a sympathetic look as she broke the news.

If he wanted to take a job without her, fine—that was his prerogative—but to go without telling her? That was just petty.

It wasn’t her fault that Natsu was acting like a child because she wanted to start dating. She can’t even fathom why he’s so bothered by it anyway.

Everything about this situation is just so stupid. It’s not like he holds any romantic interest in her anyway, and that was precisely why she wanted to start dating in the first place. She wasn’t about let the complicated feelings that had begun to bubble beneath the surface get in the way of their beloved friendship, so instead she intended to divert them away from him. It’s a win-win situation: she gets to indulge in her romantic side, and they can continue to maintain their platonic relationship.

Apparently, he doesn’t share her enthusiasm.

His stupid, childish pettiness has gotten her down in the time since they’d last spoken. The hurt from his anger had quickly dissipated into hurt from his avoidance. She misses her friend, and right now, she’s more than willing to look past it if he’s willing to speak with her. Unfortunately, based on the way he seems to disappear every time she shows up, he’s not exactly keen.

A soft sigh escapes her lips, her gaze downturned in defeated frustration as she makes her way up the steps to the guild hall. She isn’t paying much attention when she gets to the top, letting her legs work on muscle memory alone, not expecting to bump into anyone at this time of day.

That is, until she does.

Physically.

She quite literally walks straight into someone as her gaze remains distracted. Her forehead thumps against their chest, strong, warm, and familiar, and she doesn’t need to look up to know who it is.

“N-Natsu!” She sputters as she steps back in embarrassment, already feeling the heat rise to her face. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to walk into you.”

When she finally gains the courage to look up at him, he looks surprised, almost panicked to see her, but he doesn’t make an effort to sidestep her or run like he had been all week. Instead, he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck and avoids her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “For getting mad at you the other day.”

She’s taken aback slightly by his sudden apology. Natsu has a lot of pride, and it takes a lot for him to admit he’s wrong in petty moments of emotion, but he sounds genuinely remorseful, and it makes her feel bad for feeling so negatively towards him in the first few days after their spat.

“I don’t care about that anymore,” she assures, her expression softening as she speaks.

After that, Natsu finally meets her eyes again, and he looks so soft and vulnerable. It’s a strange sight to see.

“I’ve just been… thinking about it a lot, I guess,” he confesses, his eyes flicking away from hers once more as he begins to speak. “You’re right. You can date whoever you want.” There’s not a lot of conviction in his words; it sounds like something he’s rehearsed over and over in his head, but coming from him, she appreciates it nonetheless. “I’m sorry for being an ass about it.”

In all the time she’s known him, she doesn’t think she can ever recall a time where he’s apologised to her like this. Granted, she can’t really recall any time it’s been warranted. This had been their first real argument—one that didn’t involve food, or transport, or rent money. He’s hardly ever apologised for real, big things that deserve them, and she almost wonders if someone has set him up for this, but that I’m sorry sounds so genuine it almost hurts.

“I forgive you.”

Suddenly, he perks up completely, his hunched shoulders push back, and the glimmer in his eye returns as he finally looks her in the eye again.

“Does that mean we’re good?”

“Yeah,” she smiles. “We’re good.”

☆♡☆♡

Even wrapped up in her comforter, as well as every blanket she thinks she’s ever owned, the bite of winter still breaks through into Lucy’s apartment, making her teeth chatter as she tries to fight off the cold. It’s nights like this where she finds herself glad for Natsu’s lack of boundaries as he lays in bed next to her like her own personal radiator, keeping her warm and keeping the heating bill down.

She’s warmed up slightly, but her poor circulation has kept her feet cold, almost painfully so. The feeling plants an idea in her mind, and with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she places her icy-cold feet on Natsu’s leg in an attempt to extract revenge for every cruel prank he’s ever played on her.

He looks at her, a little confused but generally amused by what she has tried (and failed) to achieve.

“Whatcha doin’ there, Lucy?” He asks, knowing full well the reaction she was trying to get out of him but wanting to see if he could get a rise out of her in exchange.

“Wh-does that seriously not bother you?”

“If you needed me to warm them up, all you had to do was ask,” he tells her, with that glint in his eye that always tells her he’s up to no good.

“That’s not what I-” She’s so distraught by the failure of her plan that she hardly gives any notice to the fact that he has his own trick up his sleeve, and it’s not until he’s already under the sheets that she realises her mistake. “NATSU!”

By that point, it’s much too late, and he’s already grabbed hold of her ankle with one hand while tickling the sole of her foot with the other.

She begs, pleads, for his mercy, but by the look on his face, she knows that she’s in for a long night.

☆♡☆♡

There’s a soft thud that rings out as something cold and wet hits Lucy’s back, sending her stumbling forward slightly. Reaching over her shoulder, her hands come into contact with a lump of snow that has stuck itself to her jacket. Pivoting on her foot to see where (or who) it came from, she knows she shouldn’t be surprised when she’s met with Natsu a fair way behind her, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face and another snowball already in hand, prepared should she choose to retaliate.

He looks at her expectantly, waiting to see what her next move is going to be but standing in a fixed position, making him an easy target if she decides she wants to fight back.

She leans down and gathers a handful of snow, packing it together into something that vaguely resembles a snowball and tossing it with as much force as she can muster at Natsu. It hits him square in the chest, which is less impressive knowing that he was basically a sitting target, but she’s happy with herself nonetheless. The single hit is all it takes for Natsu to go full throttle on her in return, pelting her with as many snowballs as he can make before she has time to retaliate.

A high-pitched squeal escapes her as the snow hits her face and seeps underneath her jacket. Not even the numbing chill makes her mood falter as she holds one hand up to shield herself while the other gathers a lump of snow to throw back at him. It breaks in the air when she throws it, not even making it close to her target before it pathetically falls back to the ground, and the sight of it makes Natsu howl in laughter.

Lucy doesn’t have it in herself to be embarrassed by it. Instead, she takes his moment of distraction to make a sturdier snowball and send it soaring at him. This time it meets her target, hitting him right in the face, wiping the grin off of it and leaving him looking thoroughly shocked. It’s Lucy’s turn to laugh at him, and she whoops and hollers at her small victory while he stands there, still trying to process what has just happened.

She takes this time to begin to stockpile projectiles, but she’s not fast enough because in the time it’s taken her to make three, Natsu has recovered and has already begun to pelt her. He's clearly more experienced in this area than she is based on the speed at which he can make snowballs and throw them. Instead of fighting back, Lucy chooses to run, but his aim is too good to outrun, and she falls victim to snowball after snowball.

At some point she turns to face him (a decision she regrets immediately when she’s forced into running backwards as she tries to shield and dodge his attacks) to try and call a truce, but Natsu is not interested. Instead, he hits her with a particularly hard shot to her shoulder, and she loses balance immediately and falls to the ground.

Based on the way he begins to cheer, Lucy thinks that he’s considered it his victory, and she doesn’t have it in her to contest it. She doesn’t realise how tired she is until she’s sitting down and, disregarding the cold, flops back onto the ground. As she lays in the snow, legs spread and arms sprawled out on either side of her, an idea strikes her, and she begins to move her limbs back and forth in the snow to create what she hopes is a pretty imprint on the ground.

She hasn’t made a snow angel in what feels like an eternity, and this time, without the threat of her father scolding her for getting her winter jacket wet looming over her, she can fully give into her childish impulses.

“What are you doing, weirdo?” Natsu asks, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I’m making a snow angel,” she huffs, thinking she has made it quite obvious.

She tries to ignore the look Natsu’s giving her by shutting her eyes and concentrating on her self-assigned task, but she can still feel his gaze on her. Based on the way he laughs as she does so, she can only assume that she doesn’t look as elegant as she feels.

“Are you going to stand there and watch, or are you going to join me?” She finally says, her eyes fluttering open to meet his.

He doesn’t reply, but it’s not long before he has plonked himself on the ground next to her, and he’s making his own attempt. He tries to mimic her actions, but the longer he lays there, the more the snow begins to melt around him, and Lucy laughs at the absurdity of it all.

When they inevitably stand up to admire their work, they come to find that what he’s made is merely an approximation of a snow angel. Actually, it looks more like someone has fallen face first into the snow and struggled greatly to get back up. It’s really little more than a melted puddle in the grass, the back of his coat completely soaked through, and Lucy only feels a little bad at how much she’s laughing. His brows furrow in disappointment as he looks down at his work; it’s not nearly as pretty as Lucy’s; in fact, it’s not really a snow angel at all, but the way she’s doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach, and wiping away tears makes him laugh along too.

☆♡☆♡

When Lucy wakes up the next morning, her body protests her every move, and she begins to deeply regret putting looking cute higher on her priority list than keeping herself warm in the snow. She doesn’t last long out of bed before everything in her is begging to get back under the covers.

As soon as her head hits the pillow, she’s out for the count. Several hours pass her by in her comatose state, and it’s not until she hears the thunk of her window opening followed by the chill of the winter air running through her apartment. When she opens her eyes, she’s met with Natsu looking down at her from her windowsill, and in her groggy state, she’s not entirely sure if he’s really there or if she’s having some sort of weird fever dream.

“Na-tsu?”

“Wow, you look like shit,” Natsu observes.

Yep, definitely the real Natsu, alright.

“Thanks,” she croaks out. “I feel it too.”

He pulls the window shut before pulling himself to sit on the bed next to her.

“What happened?” he asks, examining her roughed-up appearance.

Her cheeks are deeply flushed, and a thin layer of sweat makes her hair stick to her forehead and her entire body glisten.

“That stupid snowball fight…” she grumbles.

She knows that it’s her fault for not bundling up in the cold weather, but she feels so terrible right now that shifting the blame away from herself provides a tiny piece of solace.

“Guess we’re not goin’ on that job today,” he comments.

“What job?” she asks, completely perplexed by the sudden mention of a job. There’s no job, as far as she can remember.

“Oh.”

“Guess I’m stuck taking care of you,” Natsu shrugs as he slides off of the bed and sheds his jacket, happy to make himself comfortable.

“You’re not stuck taking care of me,” she grumbles into her blanket. “I didn’t ask you to do it.”

“You know I’m just jokin’ with ya Lucy,” he grins, ruffling up her hair a little. “I’m not gonna leave ya hangin’ while you’re all sick and gross.”

She wants to protest the gross part, but she knows she won’t get far because it’s an objective fact that right now. She is gross. Her hair is a mess, a slick layer of sweat coats her entire body, and she’s pretty sure there’s a trail of snot running from her nose.

The pack that was clearly meant to be for their job today gets tossed unceremoniously to the floor by the foot of her bed as Natsu makes himself comfortable in her home.

“So,” he begins. “What’s the first step in takin’ care of a sick person?”

“Well, what do you do when you get sick?” Lucy croaks.

“I don’t get sick,” Natsu shrugs.

“What?”

“I said I don’t get sick,” he repeats.

“Everyone gets sick.”

“Not me,” he reaffirms. “Gets burnt off before it can affect me.”

She supposes it makes sense, but her brain isn’t really working well enough to question that logic regardless. All she can do is feel envious that he’s never had to go through the experience that she currently is.

“I don’t know,” she grumbles as she flops back down onto her pillow and pulls her comforter up to cover the lower half of her face. “Can you make me some soup?”

“Yeah, I can probably do that.”

If she weren’t currently wallowing in her own pity, she might immediately forbid Natsu from entering her kitchen with intent to cook, but her brain is too far gone to even consider it as a possibility.

As soon as he leaves the room, she begins to drift off again, lacking the energy to stay awake without the external stimulus.

Her faith in Natsu is rewarded when she’s coaxed awake slightly, and when her eyes flutter open, she finds him waiting with a bowl of hot soup and a side of bread she recognises as being from the bakery down the road. She knows it’s just the stuff heated from the can, but once she’s able to get a whiff through clogged sinuses, she’s reminded of how hungry she is, and it begins to look like the most delicious meal in the world.

She takes the bowl into her lap, revelling in its warmth, but before she can reach for the spoon, Natsu is already holding it out for her—a chunk of chicken and some peas and carrots floating in the broth on the utensil.

“I can feed myself,” she grumbles.

She’s sick, but she’s not a child.

Natsu rolls his eyes, a little dejected by her denial of his help, but lets her do what she wants regardless.

She takes the spoon to prove her point and brings it up to her lips to take a sip, only in her sickly haze, to tip it down her front. Her sleep shirt takes most of the hit, but it’s still hot against her skin, and it only serves to make a bad day worse.

Natsu’s once-teasing expression drops to immediate concern as she cries out in pain. He’s not exactly a fast thinker, but he has the foresight to take the bowl off of her lap to prevent another accident, and without having anything else on hand to help clean her up, he wipes the broth off of her skin with his scarf.

When the burning sensation finally wears off and she finally processes what happened, Lucy looks up at him and finds Natsu looking back at her with worry in his eyes.

“Your scarf…” she murmurs, suddenly feeling guilt prick at her heart. “It’s going to smell like soup now…”

“I don’t care about that,” he replies, his brows still firmly fixed into a frown. “Are you okay?”

Lucy comes to a pause for a moment as she looks up at him. She’s fine, really, she is, but she’s taken off guard. Not by the soup, but by the tenderness in his words and the worry woven into his expression. It’s nothing like his usual self—all brash and carefree. Sure, he always worries about his friends, but she doesn’t consider what happened enough to warrant the concern he exhibits.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she affirms, and his shoulders relax just a little. “Sorry.”

“You gotta be more careful, okay?” He says, and she almost wants to roll her eyes given who it’s coming from, but he speaks to her so tenderly and with such uncharacteristic concern that she can’t bring herself to.

Instead, she takes the moment for what it is and lets him take care of her for once.

☆♡☆♡

Christmas sneaks up on Lucy before she even has much time to even think about it. Ever since she and Natsu made up, the pair had been practically inseparable and she has barely spent any time away from him since. Not that she minds. Natsu is her best friend; she loves having him by her side, and really, all this time spent together is just making up for the lost time earlier in the year.

It's low-key this year: just her, Natsu, and Happy. She loves Erza—bless her soul—but she is simply too much for her to handle this time of year. Her apartment is decorated for the season, but she hasn’t bothered putting up a tree. They’ve agreed on no presents this time around, so there’s nothing to put under there anyway, and she doesn’t want to have to deal with lugging the thing up the stairs of her building again this year.

The day calls for food and board games, and the three of them are completely content with that.

“Another round?” Lucy asks, gathering up the cards on the table and shuffling them in the aftermath of demolishing the both of them in a devastating game of Uno.

“Actually,” Natsu hums. “I got you a present.”

Hearing that catches her off guard slightly, and she stops to place the cards down on the table. If she had known that Natsu was going to give her something, she would have gone out of her way to return the favour, but they had both agreed that they wouldn’t be exchanging gifts.

“I didn’t get you anything,” she frowns, but Natsu seems completely unphased by the fact.

Out of his overnight pack, he pulls out a small gift wrapped in bright red and white Christmas wrapping paper and places it in her hand with an excited glint in his eye.

“Don’t worry about it,” he reassures her. "C'mon, just open it already!”

It’s small enough that it fits in her hand, and as she inspects it, she really has no idea what it could be, but Natsu is staring at her with an eager grin and she can’t help but wonder what on earth he’s so excited about. The wrapping is a little messy, and she struggles to get through what she believes to be definitely way too much tape, but beneath it all she’s met with a small drawstring bag, containing a pair of gorgeous gold earrings adorned with glittering stars hanging down from the hooks.

“Cool, huh?”

She doesn’t know how to respond; this is the last thing she would have expected to receive from Natsu of all people.

“Where did you get these?”

“From some market back in that weird little town,” he shrugs.

Her brows furrow for a moment as she tries to recall what he’s talking about, until it clicks in her brain. That was months ago now, and he’d kept it this whole time, even through their no-gifts promise.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I do,” she breathes. “I really love it. Thank you, Natsu.”

Placing the earrings down on the table, Lucy reaches her arms around him, and he quickly reciprocates, his grip around her tight as she buries her face in his chest.

☆♡☆♡

New Year’s Eve brings the guild together once more in celebration. Not that they need the excuse; Lucy is almost certain that a certain subset of her guildmates have already been blackout drunk since early evening.

Nonetheless, an event like this is the perfect excuse for her to get prettied up, and she’s taking it proudly.

Her eyes scan her vanity for the hair ribbons she could have sworn she had just a second ago, but instead her gaze falls on Natsu’s gift. She hasn’t had a chance to wear them yet, waiting to save them for a special occasion, but she supposes tonight is as good as any. Taking her pair out, she switches them for her new ones before pulling her hair back to admire them. They’re definitely a little more out there than anything she might have picked for herself—certainly not an everyday pair—but the way they shimmer and twinkle in the light makes her think that they might be her new favourite out of her collection. When she finally locates her ribbons, she opts to simply tie her hair back in pigtails, letting her new earrings act as her statement piece for tonight. Even though she’s just heading to the guild, Lucy remembers to bundle up this time, having learned from her past mistake and most certainly not wanting to repeat it.

Excitement lingers in the air as she walks through Magnolia. Families are out long after dark, waiting patiently for the annual fireworks show. It’s been a longstanding tradition that has always brought the city together, and this year would be no exception. The best view is always held on the second-floor balcony of the guild hall, a fact that Lucy is intimately familiar with. She rushes up the stairs as fast as her feet will take her, not willing to miss spending the send-off of the year with her friends.

“You made it!” Natsu cheers the moment his partner comes into view.

“Of course I would make it,” she tells him, her words puffing into clouds of steam in front of her face. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

She’s just on time, too.

As the fireworks begin to light up the sky, ringing in another year and a new beginning, Lucy looks out and the crowd of her friends—her family—and watches as couples lock lips to celebrate the coming of the new year. She’s happy for them, really, she is, but her heart begins to ache as she thinks about how another year has slipped her by and she’s no closer to a relationship of her own. It had been her goal to lock herself down through the winter season but she’s just as far away from it as she had been when she shared her wishes with Mira that day at the bar.

Maybe she hadn’t put herself out there enough; maybe she spent the year too occupied with her work, but she had really thought that this would be the year that romance would come her way.

Before she has time to dwell on it too much, she feels an arm slung around her shoulders.

“Happy New Year, Lucy!” Natsu yells, pulling her into his side in a crushing hug.

His smile is so bright, his joy so infectious, that she can’t help the way her heart begins to race in her chest.

“Yeah, Happy New Year, Natsu.”

Without thinking, she finds herself on the tips of her toes, her lips gently placing a kiss against his cheek. She’s not sure how she expects him to react, but when he looks down at her, his cheeks are dusted red slightly, from the kiss or the cold, she isn’t sure, but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to.

He smiles at her, and she smiles back.

☆♡☆♡

iii. spring

By the time spring comes around, Lucy is well and truly done with winter. It has been far too cold this year and she is simply looking forward to being able to comfortably exist without several layers and the fear of frostbite.

Something she knows she will miss is the seasonal excuse for her close proximity to Natsu. It’s easy to excuse sleepovers and snuggling with your best friend under the guise of sharing body heat, especially when said best friend is the human equivalent of a radiator.

Still, that doesn’t stop her from standing just a little closer to him than usual, letting their hands brush together as they walk. Each touch of his hand against her own sends sparks through her body that feel so foreign and yet so familiar at the same time. It’s a feeling she knows she’ll now only ever associate with him, and she feels as though she has quickly become addicted.

When he asks why she’s standing so close even as the weather warms up, she pretends it’s because she’s still cold, but even Natsu knows better. Nonetheless, he doesn’t question it and lets it happen quietly.

She wonders if he ever feels it too.

☆♡☆♡

A gentle breeze tousles Lucy’s hair and the fringe of the blanket she’s spread out across the grass. Now that the weather outside is getting warmer, Lucy is ready to take any excuse to be out in the sun, and with today’s clear skies, she’s taking the chance to finish her book along with a packed lunch down at a park.

Where Lucy goes, Natsu follows—a mantra that has never been more true in their friendship than in recent months. Though she values her alone time, she can’t help the way that she still misses him whenever they’re apart, so when he invites himself along to the plans she makes, she doesn’t have it in herself to be upset about it.

Some days it feels like she’s taking a dog for a walk based on the boundless energy he always has, but today even he is subdued by the sun. He relishes in it—revels in the warmth it provides. Once lunch is finished, he is entirely content to bathe in the sunlight as Lucy reads.

She says he’s like a cat. He claims he’s more like a dragon.

She’s not sure how much she’s convinced of that, given that the place he has decided to lay is right in her lap.

His eyes flutter closed in search of a post-lunch nap, which gives Lucy ample opportunity to get through a chapter or two. She expects he’ll be the one to end their little afternoon out when he inevitably gets bored, but by the time she decides she’s done with her book for the day, he’s still snoozing in her lap. It’s rather cute, actually. Her loud, rambunctious Natsu, tamed by a little bit of warmth and sunlight. She doesn’t mind, so she lets him lay there for a while longer, happy to enjoy the sun with him.

At some point, her fingers come to tangle in his hair, gently grazing his scalp, and in that moment, he is so content that he lets out a noise that somewhat resembles a purr.

It seems that cats and dragons aren’t so dissimilar after all.

☆♡☆♡

Every year, when Easter comes around, Fairy Tail hosts a city-wide egg hunt to celebrate.

This year Lucy’s volunteered her time hiding the eggs, so she’s barred from participating, but she is content to just watch. Really, it’s supposed to be an event for the children, but that doesn’t stop the grown-ups from participating. It’s mostly parents playing along with their kids, but there’s a fair few of her guildmates searching around too, urged on by the competitive spirit that is ever present in all Fairy Tail members.

She’s found herself a spot on a secluded bench at the park, far enough out of the way that she won’t be intruding on any of the participants but close enough that she can still observe. A book lays open in her lap, her attention switching between that and the scene before her, checking to see if any of her eggs have been found.

A few familiar faces pass her by, but few take any notice of her, too deeply enraptured by the event to realise that she’s there. She exchanges polite smiles with those that do, but none elicit one quite as genuine as the one that crosses her lips when she hears her partner come along, accompanied by Happy and Asuka. Asuka is sitting atop his shoulders, gripping onto his hair as she searches the landscape from her vantage point for the brightly decorated eggs.

Lucy’s expression softens when she sees them from across the park, and Natsu flashes her a smile that gives her butterflies. Their attention is quickly taken away by the loud squeal that escapes Asuka’s lips as she uses her vantage point to spot a particularly cleverly hidden egg.

She tugs on his hair, and he runs in the direction she’s pointing in, which leads them to a tree where Lucy had wedged an egg in between the branches. She isn’t tall enough to have put it too high, so she knows that Natsu can easily reach for it on his own, but he bends down slightly to give Asuka the chance to grab it.

They both whoop and holler in excitement when she drops it in the basket Happy is carrying, and Lucy can’t help the giggle that escapes her lips. She’s too far away from them to hear, but even if she were closer, she’s certain she wouldn’t be heard over their celebratory cries.

They don’t stay for much longer; Asuka is too keen to continue their hunt in other places to stop by and say hi, but it doesn’t stop Natsu from waving as they dash by.

☆♡☆♡

Natsu is running late the day that he promised they’d take another job together. Lucy isn’t paying much mind to the time in the first place, allowing herself to get stuck into a new novel she had purchased the day prior while she waits. It’s not until nearly twenty minutes have gone by that she thinks to check the time and notices how late he is.

He’s never exactly prompt, but Natsu is a man of his word, and if he says he’s going to be somewhere, he will be there, which makes Lucy begin to worry. There are a couple of things that would keep Natsu from the guildhall when he says he’ll be there, but they’re few and far between, and it has Lucy wondering if something bad has happened to him.

Thankfully, he doesn’t leave her wondering for too long, before he stumbles over to her table. When he finally arrives, he looks downright miserable. His eyes are red and puffy, and his nose is scarlet to match. He sniffs and wipes away a drool of snot, and Lucy flinches slightly in disgust.

“Natsu, what are you doing here?” She asks, concerned by his current state, shuffling away from him slightly when he sits down next to her. “You look terrible.”

“I feel terrible,” he replies, letting his head thunk down on the table and instilling a sense of déjà vu in her.

“If you’re sick, why didn’t you go to Wendy?

“I’m not sick,” he insists. “I don’t get sick, remember?”

She vaguely recalls a conversation they’ve had about this before, and it’s not that she doesn’t believe him because in all the time she’s known him, he hasn’t ever been sick, but he certainly looks sick in the moment, and there is a first time for everything.

Coaxing him off of the table, Lucy presses her hand against his forehead to check his temperature, only to be reminded that Natsu runs about as hot as the sun, and that she’s not about to get anywhere like this.

“If you’re sick, you should have stayed home. Our job can wait.”

“But I wasn’t sick when I was at home,” he groans, letting his head fall into his hands as though that might stop the symptoms plaguing him.

Lucy pauses for a moment and mulls his words over in her head, and suddenly things begin to click.

“Natsu… Do you have hay fever?”

He pauses for a moment and peeks through his fingers, looking at her in confusion.

“What?”

“Allergies,” she rephrases.

“Allergic to what?” He asks, still not understanding what she’s trying to say.

She’s never seen someone look so wrecked by seasonal allergies, but with his heightened senses and this seemingly being the first time he’s been hit by them, it sort of makes sense in her mind.

“To pollen,” she explains. “Maybe you’re having a reaction to the high pollen count. That would be why you were fine when you were home but got sick when you came here.”

He looks at her, and she can almost see the gears turning in his head.

“Maybe? I’ve never had allergies before,” he grumbles, looking unhappy with her conclusion. “I don’t wanna feel like shit every time I hafta go outside.”

The concern she once had turns into a soft laugh when his head falls to the table now that she knows he’s not seriously ailing. It’s a little bit amusing, honestly. Big Bad Natsu Dragneel, taken down by a little bit of pollen.

Thankfully, it’s not something a trip to the pharmacy can’t cure for him.

He takes care of her, and now it’s her chance to repay the favour.

☆♡☆♡

As soon as Natsu’s feet hit the ground, he is on his knees, kissing the train platform like he has never seen solid ground before.

“You don’t need to be so dramatic about it,” Lucy says, debating whether she should pretend she doesn’t know him or not.

When she finally coaxes him off the floor and to the exit of the station, they’re met with a vicious downpour that almost completely obscures the normal view they would get when they come into the city.

“It was raining when we came into Magnolia,” she tells him as she looks out into the rain. “Well, you know what they say: April showers bring May flowers.”

It’s a hopefully optimistic phrase, and it doesn’t match the almost pained expression on her face when she looks over at him.

It had been so nice when they left the day before; the sky was clear and cloudless, with no indication of the greyness that looms over them now. She hadn’t thought to bring a raincoat, and while she could maybe put that down to her inability to dress for the weather, the fact that Natsu hadn’t thought to either at least makes her feel a tinge better.

She furrows her brows slightly as he looks out into the town, though she can’t see much further than a few metres in front of her before the heavy rain obscures the view entirely. While she’s rather fond of rain, that’s in scenarios where she’s curled up inside with a good book. The idea of running through a downpour this heavy is unappealing to her, and she has an inkling that Natsu feels the same way.

“I don’t have an umbrella,” she murmurs. “And the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to let out any time soon.”

They could wait around until the downpour stops, but who knows how long that might take.

Natsu looks up at her to confer about her options, but by that point, she has already made up her mind.

“Well,” she says, tugging off her jacket and holding it above her head. “Are you ready?”

He regards her with a blank stare for a moment, but then he answers her with a wide grin. Before long, they step out into the rain, and they’re running through a torrential downpour together.

Almost immediately, she is drenched right to the bone. Any other time, it would be gross and uncomfortable, but there is so much adrenalin pumping through her veins that it barely registers in her brain. All she can feel is the rush, and the rain washing away all of her woes.

Her feet take her where she needs to go, trailing right behind Natsu in front of her. She’s given up on using her jacket to keep herself dry; the garment is already completely soaked through. Instead, she just lets the rain roll over her, causing her hair and clothing to stick to her skin.

The heavy rain obscures her vision, and she worries that she’s going to lose Natsu, but before she knows it, he reaches his hand out towards her, and she takes it in her own with no hesitation.

Their fingers lace together as they run.

Natsu spots a tree not far from where they are, and as they approach, he tugs on her arm to pull her under it, taking solace in the small bit of shelter it provides. He holds her close to his chest, and she takes in every bit of warmth his body provides. She’s completely drenched, and her teeth are chattering as the cold seeps into her skin. They stay there for a moment, relishing in the temporary shelter, though knowing it’s just that—temporary.

“You ready?” He asks.

“Yeah,” she breathes, looking out at the rain battering down onto the sidewalk.

Sucking in a breath, Lucy grabs his hand once more, and together they run back out into the rain. She holds one hand over her head in a futile attempt to shield herself, and the idea of it is so silly that Natsu doesn’t even try to hold back the laugh he lets out. He could really be laughing at anything right now, but she knows he’s laughing at her, so she huffs and disregards her futile efforts. Instead, she diverts it to running as fast as she can muster, speeding down the streets of Magnolia like her life depends on it. Even Natsu struggles to match her pace.

He shakes some of the water out of his hair like a dog when they make it inside, and droplets splash against her skin, which she makes sure he knows when she lets out a loud squeal. They both know he has more efficient ways of drying himself, but they also both know that he finds it much more fun this way.

Even as she fiddles with the lock on her front door, his hand never leaves his. She knows that if not for it, they would already be inside, but she just can’t find it in herself to pull away.

☆♡☆♡

Alzack and Bisca being away on a day job means that Natsu is on babysitting duty until they return and Natsu being on babysitting duty means that Lucy is on babysitting duty too.

The day is too nice for the three of them to be stuck inside, so they take Asuka for a walk down to a park that sits a few streets down from Lucy’s apartment. When they arrive, they find that spring is in full bloom, with daisies covering every inch of grass as far as the eye can see.

Asuka squeals in delight as it comes into view, tugging on Natsu’s hair to let him know that she wants to be let down, and as soon as her feet hit the ground, she runs off into the field, dropping to her knees to pick herself a bundle.

Lucy and Natsu follow not far behind, sitting beside her on the grassy surface, where Lucy begins to join her in plucking the daisies.

Her fingers effortlessly weave the stems together to create a chain of flowers, the stems braided together with the petals poking out between them. Once she finds herself satisfied with it, she places it gently atop Natsu’s head. His attention has been squarely on watching Asuka gather flowers before tearing all the petals off to add to the pile in her lap, but the feeling of something being placed on the crown of his head has him bringing a hand up to his hair to feel what it is. He looks over at Lucy, confused, only to be met with a soft expression on her face.

“I made you a flower crown,” she smiles, holding back a giggle at the baffled look on his face.

He looks kind of cute like that, she thinks, with the soft white flowers peeking out between his messy pink locks. The delicate flowers juxtapose his loud and boisterous personality, and it reminds her how special she is to get to see the softer side of him.

When he finally processes what has just happened, Natsu begins to gather up a collection of his own daisies to try and return the favour. His hands aren’t as dainty or dextrous as hers are, so he struggles to pierce the thin stems and thread them together, which results in his first attempt being a little sloppy and beginning to fall apart when he tries to hold it up.

“Do you want some help?” Lucy asks, holding a hand out to him, but he merely shakes his head in response.

“No, I can do it,” he replies, already plucking another set of flowers as a look of deep concentration sets in on his face.

His second attempt doesn’t prove to be much better, though, and in his frustration, he lets the flowers fall to the ground. When he looks back up at Lucy, he finds that she’s once again weaving together a string of them at Asuka’s request, and he’s struck with an alternative idea.

While she hands Asuka her chain, she’s caught off guard as Natsu brushes a strand of hair behind her ear and tucks one of his discarded daisies behind her ear. One daisy turns into two, and then three, four, five, until her hair is a sea of flowers and she’s a blushing, giggling mess.

It’s not long before Asuka decides she wants to join in on the fun. Soon Lucy is covered in so many flowers that they simply cannot fit any more on her, and the three of them begin transferring them to Asuka’s hair instead.

☆♡☆♡

In her time spent as a Fairy Tail mage, there’s little that Lucy wants to do that she hasn’t already done yet. She’s got an impressive resume as a guild wizard, she’s achieved a lot in her personal life, and she’s seen all Magnolia has to offer. There are few things that she so desires to experience in the little town she’s found her home in that she hasn’t yet done, but as spring has sprung and flowers come into bloom, there is one thing she still feels like she’s missed out on.

She makes sure to take care of herself early spring this year; she dresses for the weather; she doesn’t take jobs in places where it gets too cold; and she avoids Gray for a whole week when he comes down with a nasty cough. It’s a little much—as Natsu has pointed out to her on multiple occasions—but she is not taking any risks this year, and as the flowers come into view, she knows that it was all worth it.

The sight of the cherry blossoms in bloom in their native spot is nothing like Lucy could have imagined. Soft pink flowers decorate the branches of every tree as far as the eye can see, some of their petals fluttering to the ground as the gentle breeze sways them. She feels a genuine sense of childlike wonder, and it takes Happy tugging at her arm to draw her attention away.

When she turns around, she meets Natsu’s eyes, and gracing his lips is an amused smile that she rarely sees on him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“‘Cause you’re gettin’ real excited over some flowers,” he replies. “The real fun hasn’t even started yet.”

He’s right—the flowers are only the beginning of the festivities. The day ahead is filled with food, fun, and companionship (and maybe a little bit of booze), and as the sun begins to descend over the horizon and the pink diffuses into a rainbow of colours, Lucy begins to get teary-eyed. Something about the cherry blossoms just brings it out of her, because even though she’s surrounded by her friends in a boisterous environment like this almost every day, tonight she just can’t help but feel sentimental about it.

Maybe it’s the memory of that one night all those years ago and the memory of rainbow petals flittering in the river, or maybe it’s just the glass of wine running through her veins, but when she sees Natsu and Happy standing beneath the tree, tears start running down her cheeks. They’re quiet at first, but it quickly devolves into choked-out sobs that capture Natsu’s attention and cause him to panic. He’s by her side about as soon as he hears them, and she doesn’t realise just how much she wants him next to her until he’s there.

“They’re so pretty!” She sobs out.

“The flowers?” Natsu asks, bewilderment cast over his expression.

Lucy nods frantically as she wipes away her tears. They come so quickly that she isn’t really in the headspace to explain why she’s crying, but the tension in Natsu’s shoulders seems to loosen up when he realises that she’s not in any immediate harm or danger.

“I’m just so happy!” Lucy babbles.

“Yeah?” He affectionately replies. “Me too.”

He wipes away a tear from her cheek with his thumb, a slight mischievous smirk growing on his lips before he speaks up again.

“You’re weird.”

If it’s an effort to kill the tender moment, it fails because Lucy simply clutches onto his vest and begins to sob into his chest. His stupid little comments can’t hurt her when she knows he says them with love.

She’ll always be his weirdo. 

☆♡☆♡

As the end of spring nears and the beginning of summer approaches, the days begin to get longer and warmer.

The town they’ve found themselves in prides itself on the gorgeous beaches that line the horizon, and with the way the warmth of the incoming season begins to creep up on them, they decide to take advantage of the cool water as the sun begins to dip over the horizon.

Lucy knows they’ve made the right decision when she wades ankle deep into the water, letting out a relieved sigh as it washes over her feet. She stretches her arms out, letting the breeze tousle her hair as she takes in a breath of the salty sea air. The way the sky is soaked in golden orange hues makes it look like a painting, and with the utter peace she feels in that moment, she feels like she’s in one too.

Her attention turns when she hears the sloshing of water, and she comes to find Natsu, his pants rolled up his legs as he moves to join her.

He’s been staring; she can tell, but he doesn’t hide it. When she casts him a quizzical look, he merely grins at her, and she can’t find it in herself to question him. Instead, she merely smiles back.

Her heart squeezes in her chest at the sight. He looks so handsome cast in the orange hues of the sunset, and the way he smiles at her makes her heart do flips. She’s no longer looking towards the sun, for she has another blazing flame next to her. It’s a soft moment—a good one—but it’s cut short when Natsu kicks his leg up and lets water splash over her.

In ruining one moment, he creates another, and the laugh he lets out almost makes getting her shirt wet worth it.

Now dead set on earning her revenge, Lucy leans down to slosh water on him, and before long the two are engaged in a water fight of epic proportions, laughing and howling like a pair of children, unaffected by the burdens and woes of life.

It’s just them.

Just the way it always should be.

Her feet are beginning to sink into the wet sand, and she’s starting to lose her balance, but she’s not going down without a fight. In a last-ditch effort to hold herself up, she instead grabs onto Natsu, pulling them both down into the water.

At this point, they’re both completely drenched, so falling into the ocean does little to faze them.

Once they break the surface of the water, Lucy spits out a mouthful of ocean water that she obtained in the fall, and Natsu shakes the water out of his hair like a dog. Droplets from his hair splash onto Lucy’s face, and she holds her hands up to shield herself from it despite the fact that she is already soaked.

He laughs again, and hearing it once more, she realises that she’s in deep.

Their gazes meet, and for a moment she wonders if he ever thinks the same of her, but before she can think to contemplate it any longer, she feels his hands on her waist and her lips on her own.

There’s not a moment of hesitation before her hands move up to his face, cradling his jaw as she kisses him back.

In that moment, it feels as though all time has stopped.

It’s just them against the backdrop of the sunset.

She begins to wonder if this is what falling in love feels like.

☆♡☆♡

It has been three, maybe four, weeks since her job out of town with Natsu. Or perhaps—more accurately—since the day Natsu kissed her. The job is foreign in her mind, muddled in with every other job she’s taken over the past few years, but the kiss is so clear in her mind that she would be hard-pressed to ever forget it. It plays over and over again in her mind; the image so clear, it was as though she was reliving the moment every time.

The memory is practically haunting.

It wouldn’t be such a problem if he actually wanted to address it.

They hadn’t spoken a word about it since then because every time she tried to broach the subject, he seemed to get skittish. He was making it clear he didn’t want to talk about it, so she dropped the subject entirely, but for as normal as she wants to act, there’s still a lingering tension between them.

She just hopes things will go back to normal soon.

☆♡☆♡

iv. summer

All the money Natsu saves her in the winter goes down the drain in the summer when it’s time to pay her electricity bill. The window is wide open, two fans are running at full speed, and the AC is down as cool as it can go, but it’s still not enough. It’s not helped by the fact that he has decided to sprawl himself across her bed. Lucy knows he can’t help that his body runs about a million degrees hotter than most, but he’s really not helping his case with how close he's chosen to lay next to her—all but on top of her.

She gently nudges him with her foot in an attempt to get him off her bed and out of her general proximity.

“Off,” she demands, nudging him again, though far less gently this time.

“Don’t wanna,” he drawls, not moving an inch from his chosen spot.

The worst part, in Lucy’s eyes, is the fact that he doesn’t even seem to be affected by the heat, so he’s just taking up residence on her bed and blocking her fan for no real reason.

“You’re too hot,” she groans, rolling over onto her front in an attempt to get as far away from him and the heat he radiates as possible.

She’s aware of the double entendre as soon as she says it, and she tries to shake the thought from her mind when she questions which way she means it.

Ever since the day he kissed her, she hasn’t been able to get him off of her mind. That in and of itself was not unusual; he’s her best friend, and they’re basically inseparable, but this time it’s different. This time, her mind is plagued with thoughts of him as something more. Every time she gets a glimpse of his lips, she recalls the way they felt against hers, and she wants to feel them again.

She really thought that that moment would be the turning point in their relationship—the moment they could take things further than what they have now. They’ve always had something more-than-friends going on in their relationship, she supposes, but he has always left her wanting more. She needs something, anything from him, to let her know how he feels—a label, a kiss, any sort of acknowledgement of these feelings that always seem to be just simmering below the surface—but instead she gets nothing.

She’s not given any more time to dwell on those thoughts when Natsu rolls over to get closer to her, tossing one leg over her own, and suddenly the only thing she can think about is how this is going to be a long, sweaty afternoon.

“You’re comfy,” is the only excuse he drawls.

Lucy doesn’t feel like debating it—she doesn’t have the energy to do so—so it’s left at that.

☆♡☆♡

Honestly, the crackle of the fire is the last thing they need right now given the warm summer nights they’ve been blessed with, but as the sun dips low over the horizon and they still find themselves in the depths of the forest, it’s necessary to cook their dinner and light their camp.

With the sun down, the night is much cooler than the day, making it bearable to linger by the fire for a while before they retire back to their tent for the night.

It’s a little cloudy tonight, but Lucy still indulges herself in the little stargazing she can get this time of night—or at least, she tries to before her attention is drawn away by Natsu, snapping small branches off of a nearby tree.

“What are you doing?” She asks.

“Getting sticks,” he answers, matter-of-factly.

Lucy holds pause for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate. She can see he’s getting sticks, but she’s still unsure why. When an answer doesn’t come, she speaks up again.

“Why?”

“Gonna make us s’mores.”

That causes her to perk up slightly.

“You brought stuff for s’mores?” She asks.

“Yeah, they’re in my pack,” he replies, gesturing to where it sits by the fire as he returns with an armful of sticks he has deemed sufficient for their marshmallow toasting endeavours.

Surely enough, when he rummages through his bag for a moment, he pulls out everything they need to make s’mores. He wastes no time piercing the marshmallows on his sticks and handing one to her. She’s never roasted marshmallows before, which is kind of absurd given how often they’ve got a campfire going, but she gets the idea pretty quickly.

Her first few are not as good as she would have hoped. When she accidentally burns them, charring them beyond recognition, Natsu eats them without complaint. He likes them better that way, he tells her. When he offers one up to her, she politely declines.

She discovers she likes a nice even toast, and the way to do that, as Natsu teaches her, is to keep it in continuous motion.

He only “accidentally” knocks her marshmallow into the fire once.

Their s’mores are sweet, and ooey, and gooey. They’re full of melt-in-your-mouth, chocolatey goodness, and when a little bit of chocolate makes it onto her face, Natsu wipes it off with his thumb and sticks it in his mouth. It’s a marked improvement on licking her face, but the tenderness of it makes her cheeks grow just a little hotter.

She begins to wonder if he might be just as sweet as the s’mores they’re eating.

☆♡☆♡

A bead of sweat drips down Lucy’s temple as the sun beats down on her.

They had planned to stay at the guild a little later than usual and wait out the midday sun, but even that is proving to be still much too hot for her. While Natsu fares fine in the heat, Lucy does not hold up so well and is in a rush to make it back to her air-conditioned apartment.

It’s not a long walk from the guild to her apartment, but in this heat it’s never felt longer, not made any better given Natsu does not seem to be in the same hurry she is. He trails a few feet behind her, and as much as she would like to just leave without waiting around for him, she can’t do that to him. Just as she’s at the end of her rope, she turns on her heel to snap at him to hurry up, the weather doing no good for her irritability, but in that moment she realises why it is that he doesn’t seem to be in much of a rush.

On the corner of one of the corners she passed without much thought, is a little ice cream stand, making the most of the summer season.

She comes to pause, unable to hold it against him when she suddenly wants the exact same thing. An ice cream seems like the exact thing she needs to get through this weather.

When she opens her purse, she remembers all the frivolous purchases she’s made this week, and there’s nothing more than a few stray jewels in there—not nearly enough to buy herself a little treat. In a last-ditch attempt to obtain her sweet treat, she turns to face her partner.

“Naaattsssuu~” She says, batting her eyelashes in an attempt to sway him.

She doesn’t have to ask because he already knows what she wants.

He’s never succumbed to her cute charms before, but it’s worth the attempt anyway. Natsu, as perhaps predicted, looks unaffected.

“Please?” She adds, sweetly.

She’s not entirely sure if it’s because of her persuading—if anything, she thinks it might be in spite of it—but Natsu rolls his eyes and caves anyway. Lucy lets out a celebratory squeal, clapping her hands in excitement, giving no care to the thought that she may look childish in that moment. The stand worker hands her a cone, a cherry blossom pink shade with strawberry ripples throughout.

The coolness that hits her tongue is exactly what she needs. Any irritability correlated with the weather melts away like the trail of cream that drips down her hand. She thanks Natsu for the treat, and she can’t be too upset with him when he takes a lick from her cone.

☆♡☆♡

“Up,” Lucy demands, throwing a pillow at Natsu’s face to rouse him from his slumber. “Up!”

Natsu groans, perhaps justifiably so, considering that it is the middle of the night and the sun hasn’t even begun to threaten peeking over the horizon. He’s clearly a little dazed and out of it, but given she’s waking him at no later than two in the morning, she can’t exactly blame him.

“Don’t wanna,” he drawls. “Wanna go back to sleep.”

"Well, you can’t,” she replies. “I’m going out, and who knows what kind of creeps are roaming around at this time, so I need you to come with me.”

“Where are you going?” He asks, his voice still hoarse.

“We,” she corrects, gesturing between the two of them. “Are going stargazing.”

Natsu doesn’t reply immediately. After a few moments of silence, Lucy comes to realise he is probably not going to reply at all. Given the demand route didn’t work, she switches up her tactics and puts on a pout that she hopes he can see in the dark.

“Please?”

There’s another beat of silence that makes Lucy wonder whether this is a lost cause, but before she gives up entirely, he caves.

“Fine.”

They’re in a town far out from any cities, bordering a forest where light pollution is almost non-existent. The summer weather has brought them a warm, cloudless night, so perfect for stargazing that Lucy could almost cry.

Once they make it just outside the border of the town, she spreads out a blanket onto the grass before splaying herself out on top of it, at which point Natsu joins. It’s not the most comfortable laying on the grass, but the view is so pretty that Lucy can’t bring herself to care.

As if by instinct now, her eyes trace lines between the stars to draw pictures of constellations. It’s engrained in her brain now, in her soul, and in her very being. It brings her such comfort to be out among the stars, like she was meant to be there. She lays there for a moment or two before she realises that Natsu is not made quite the same way.

She reaches her hand out in front of them, her index finger pointing towards the skies, where she locates a cluster of stars not terribly familiar to her but she knows well enough will pique his interest.

“That there,” she begins. “Is Draco.”

His eyes seem to light up, attention captured by her words. She tells him the tales of the stars, and he listens until deep into the night.

She lets out a small yawn, the late night finally taking its toll on her body. She knows it’s time to go back to their rooms, but the view is so pretty and the moment is so perfect that she just doesn’t want to leave.

So they stay.

Before long, the night sky before them is swallowed away by droopy eyelids and the promise of a cool night’s sleep.

☆♡☆♡

If she had to pick, Lucy would probably choose summer as her favourite season. Though she loves the golden leaves of fall, the gentle blossoms of spring, and the soft snowflakes of winter, the warm rays of summer always seem to edge it out for her.

For the most part, anyway.

That was before a heatwave hit Magnolia, at which point she had to reconsider. She has lived here for years by now and though it certainly gets warm in the summer, she’s never experienced heat like this until now. Fortunately for her, that is where Erza comes in clutch with a trip to Akane Beach as a reward for all the hard work they’ve done this year.

“Can someone please put some sunscreen on my back?” Lucy drawls as she lays sprawled on her towel on the sand.

The heat itself is already unbearable—the last thing she wants right now is to be baked until her tender skin is peeling off of her back.

“I can,” Gray volunteers, reaching out for the bottle, but before she can pass it off to him, Natsu interrupts from practically half way across the beach.

“I got it!”

He makes a mad dash for it, snatching it out of her hands before Gray can get to it.

It’s a little bit of a strange move, but she simply puts it down to his competitiveness. Right now, all Lucy cares about is whether her skin is protected from the death ray that is this year’s summer sun, so she makes no comment as she lays face down on her towel.

The coolness of the lotion against her back brings her enough relief that not even Natsu’s warm hands bother her. It’s rather nice feeling him massage in the cream, working out the knots and cricks in her back as he goes. It’s enough to have her falling asleep in the sun, only to wake up hours later, stuck within a moat Natsu has decided to dig around her.

☆♡☆♡

The beaches are packed during the day, but despite still being warm out at night, they empty out when the sun goes down. It’s perfect for Lucy’s plans, given she didn’t get to go for a dip during the day. She had been too busy working on her tan, but she can still admit that the water looked tempting.

Armed with a beach towel, she wanders down the hallway with the intention of having the beach to herself but is promptly cut off when she rounds the corner and finds her partner about to enter his own room. Her presence is enough to capture his attention and the swimsuit peeking out from her shirt is enough to raise questions.

“Where ya goin’?” He asks, brows quirked in curiosity.

“For a swim,” she replies.

“At this time of night?”

“Mhmm.”

There’s a beat of silence for a moment as he mulls over her words.

“Can I come?”

She thinks that might be the first time he’s asked permission in his life, so she’d be hard-pressed to say no to him.

The cool water against her skin is exactly what she’s been needing, and going out this late means that it’s just the two of them. She wades in waist deep, and Natsu follows not far behind. Looking up, she sees that the vast sky is cloudless, presenting them with a canvas of stars smattered across the galaxy. She leans back and lets herself float on the water, and Natsu follows suit.

The feeling it gives her in that moment is nothing short of absolute peace.

Natsu’s unusually quiet as they gaze at the skies, and Lucy glances over at him to make sure he’s okay. He notices her gaze immediately and shoots her back a grin.

In that moment, her heart squeezes in her chest.

“Ya wanna swim?” He asks before she can give it too much thought.

“I’d like that.”

It feels like they’ve entered a new dimension as they swim under the moonlight, one kept secret from the rest of the world. A sacred place where only they exist.

When Lucy breaks the surface of the water, she flips her hair back and takes in a deep breath to savour this moment and the salty sea breeze. Upon looking at Natsu, she finds his hair dripping over his eyes. He shakes his head to rid of the excess water, and she lets out a squeal as it splashes up onto her face. It’s a declaration of war, and she’s not going to back down so easily.

Ruthlessly, she sends an armful of water his way, and he makes the mistake of yelling out as she does so, getting a mouthful of salt water in the process. Lucy howls in laughter as he sputters and spits, and Natsu takes the distraction to give her a splash of epic proportions.

She’s already soaked, but she’s not about to give him the satisfaction of winning. As a lifeline to keep herself from submerging, she grabs onto Natsu, arms wrapping around his chest, her face pressed up against him.

In that moment, she is hit with a bout of déjà vu, and she’s brought back to that night on the beach in the spring.

He must feel it too, because in that moment he freezes, and she waits for him to kiss her just like before. He lifts her up into his arms, holding her bridal style just above the water. Instinctively, her arms come to rest on his shoulders, and she puckers up, ready to feel his lips on hers.

The kiss she’s waiting for never comes.

Instead, he tosses her into the water, where she lands with a hearty splash. It happens so quickly that she doesn’t even process what’s happened until she’s already submerged. She tries to gasp for air in shock, but instead takes in a mouthful of water and chokes. Her return to the surface is less than graceful, and she thinks Natsu is pulling her up, but she’s so disoriented that she doesn’t know what’s happening.

All she can really register is the look of guilt on his face as he helps her back to shore.

☆♡☆♡

For as enthused as Natsu had seemed to hang out with her at the start of the trip, it seems like all that enthusiasm has gone out the window as the days progress. He hasn’t spoken to her directly all morning and even as the group makes the excursion out into town, he keeps his distance.

She looks over at Natsu and finds him looking back, but the moment he realises she’s spotted him, he looks away. It’s not the first time that’s happened this week, and based on the way things are going, she fears it might not be the last either.

He’s been so weird these past few days—she’s barely even seen him since their moonlit beach trip. She thought it had been a coincidence at first, that he just happened to be occupying himself with something else whenever she saw him, but now she knows he’s been doing it on purpose. She’s just not sure why.

Does he feel guilty about nearly drowning her? He’s always been bad at apologies and accountability, but he’s done plenty worse to her before without remorse, and she really isn’t upset about it. If anything, she’s upset that he’s ignoring her—that he doesn’t feel like he can confide in her about whatever’s bothering him.

It throws off her mood for the next few days, and everyone else seems to notice.

Erza doesn’t even have to say anything; she simply holds up the bottle of sake, and Lucy knows that all her problems are going to be washed away with it for tonight.

☆♡☆♡

It doesn’t quite hit her how much she’s had to drink until she’s hobbling down the hallways back to her room, hand trailing the wall to keep her balance as the world threatens to spin around her. Despite that, she’s convinced she can make it to her room herself—that is, until she sees Natsu round the corner, and based on his expression, he doesn’t share her conviction.

It takes all of her willpower not to fling her entire body weight at him out of excitement the moment she sees him. Still, she refrains.

He’s mad at her, is the conclusion her drunken mind has come to. Why else would he be avoiding her the way he has been? He’s mad at her, and he doesn’t want to spend time with her, and he doesn’t want to kiss her.

He’s pulling away from her because the tension between them is palpable since their kiss, and it’s only made worse by the fact that she so desperately wants more between them, but he just wants to remain friends.

With furrowed brows, Natsu approaches her in an attempt to make sure her drunken self is okay. He reaches out to her, his hand resting on her arm to help her maintain her balance.

The feeling of his hand against her skin is enough to make her do something stupid.

“Why won’t you kiss me again?” She slurs.

She can’t stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth, and she regrets them the instant she sees Natsu’s expression morph into one of panic, but she’s too drunk to take them back.

“I, uh-”

He swallows thickly and averts his gaze, and her heart breaks all in the same moment.

“C’mon, let’s get you to your room,” he says, avoiding the question entirely.

He reaches out to lift her up, and she tries to bat him away, to turn around and get back by herself, but his sober movements are too much for her drunk self, and before she can make any meaningful escape, he’s scooped her up in his arms. Instinctively, she reaches around his neck and nuzzles her face into the crook of his neck.

Anything else that happens after that is nothing but a blur in Lucy’s mind, mingled together with the scent and warmth of Natsu wrapped around her.

☆♡☆♡

It’s their last night at Akane Beach, and she feels as though she’s wasted it. The first few days were good, great even, but ever since Natsu began his dance of sidestepping her at every occasion, things have been downhill.

She can exist without Natsu, and he can exist without her. She has no problem with him having his own space, doing his own things, but things have been awkward between them, and it makes her worry about the state of their relationship. There’s been question marks around it all summer—a lingering tension between them ever since they kissed. Still, Natsu refuses to acknowledge it, leaving Lucy unsure how to address it.

Maybe, given some time, things would go back to normal. What they have is too strong to be broken by a measly kiss. They could just brush it off as some spur-of-the moment mistake, but as soon as that liquid courage entered her veins, she had to go and ruin it all by admitting that she doesn’t think it was a mistake—that she wants more.

Evidently, Natsu does not.

There’s a fireworks show on tonight, and everyone is practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of seeing them. The balcony in Erza’s room provides them with what proposes to be an incredible view of it, and while everyone has gathered there to see it, Lucy has gone off on her own.

While she loves her friends, what she needs right now isn’t to be crammed on a balcony with them—with Natsu. She wants to clear her mind, and a cool night's walk to pull herself together while the rest of them are occupied offers the perfect opportunity.

She walks through the town through sunset, letting her legs take her where they may until she finds herself walking the beach, sand beneath her feet under a moonlit sky.

With the display on tonight, much of the beach is full of both tourists and locals eager to watch the canvas of the sky be painted with more than just stars tonight. She avoids the crowds as she walks, nothing more than intuition leading her way, and is rewarded when she comes across a secluded spot on the beach, far away from everyone else. It feels wrong to be out here alone on the final day of her trip, but she can’t bring herself to face Natsu right now.

She’s just a stupid girl. A stupid, dumb, idiot, lovestruck girl who’s ruined everything good in her life over a crush and a bottle of sake.

She’s let herself get her hopes up, she’s deluded herself into thinking she has a chance, and she’s wasted her time on someone who doesn’t want her and ruined their friendship in the process. She doesn’t want to cry over something like this, but she can’t stop the few tears that manage their way down her cheeks. She pulls her knees up to her chest and rests her forehead on them to conceal the little sobs and whimpers she lets out.

Before long, the rising chatter of those excited for tonight’s display draws her gaze up, and she realises how pathetic she seems in this moment. She considers leaving, going somewhere more private to wallow in self-pity in peace, but the sound of footsteps in the sand behind her captures her attention instead. She turns around to find the source and sees Natsu approaching behind her.

She’s not sure what to say to him after embarrassing herself in front of him last night, but when he grins and plants himself on the sand beside her, she knows she doesn’t have to say anything. He wraps his arms around her and rests his forehead against her shoulder. In that moment, she feels all the tension between them melt away.

“Hey,” he says, voice little more than a murmur against her arm.

“Hi,” she manages to squeak back.

It’s quiet between them for a moment after that. Lucy doesn’t know what to say after all that’s happened—she's not really sure she knows how to be normal around Natsu after all of this. There are all these weird feelings swirling around in her chest that she isn’t entirely sure how to address now that he’s here, so she simply doesn’t say anything.

“Why’d you come all the way out here?” He asks, finally breaking the silence between them.

“Because I needed some time to myself,” she answers honestly.

She doesn’t say anything to elaborate on it, and they fall into silence once again. She’s embarrassed to say why—embarrassed to let him in on her feelings, especially when the tension she’s been worried about seems to have dissipated in an instant.

“Why did you come out here to find me?” She asks, filling the quiet air that has befallen them.

“Because I missed you.”

It feels strange to hear, given that he’s been avoiding her all week, but when he smiles at her the way he is; so truly, so genuinely, none of that seems to matter.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she says.

She’s not too sure if it’s meant to be a question or not, but it comes out as a statement. A look of guilt crosses Natsu’s face, and he averts his gaze, confirming what she already knows.

“Yeah,” he affirms with a murmur. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

The question topples out of her mouth before she can stop it. She’s not entirely sure she wants to know the answer, but by then, it’s already too late.

“I’m not good with… feelings,” he says, eyes still trained on the sand in front of them.

That is something she has long since become acquainted with. Natsu doesn’t do feelings. He’d much rather ignore any complicated feelings than have to acknowledge they’re there because feelings incite change and Natsu doesn’t like change.

Change is good; change is necessary, she thinks, but when it comes to their relationship, she thinks she understands where he’s coming from.

What they have is good, not something worth ruining over a few little complicated feelings. That’s why she’s wanted to move on, to find someone else to help stray her romantic thoughts from Natsu, but so much as she tries, she just can’t imagine herself with anyone but him. He’s so kind, so thoughtful; he protects her; he takes care of her. He makes her laugh and smile, even when things feel hopeless. He takes her on adventures, he teaches her new things.

He gets her.

There is no one else out there like her Natsu, and she knows that anyone who tries to vie for her heart will always be put in comparison to him. Still, what they have isn’t worth losing over whatever she feels towards him and so she should be content keeping things as they are.

She wants to tell him this, but the sound of fireworks painting the night sky pulls them out of the moment.

It’s a cloudless night, and the sky is littered with a million stars that might be the centrepiece were it not for bright colours lighting up the night. It’s pretty, and it’s perfect, and it eases any worries Lucy might have had—at least for now. She’s happy to have this moment with him, to let it linger untainted from any feelings she may have for him, even if just for a moment.

She’s happy to share this with him.

That untainted moment is cut short when she feels his hand, callouses and all, graze her cheek. She drags her gaze to meet his, and if she thinks she has any idea what he’s doing before now, all that goes out the window when he’s kissing her lips.

It’s more deliberate this time—less spontaneous, less salty. This time she’s given the chance to feel him against her, to taste his lips, and it’s so perfect she could almost cry.

It’s not their first kiss, but it’s their first kiss that means something, and if she has any doubts about that, they quickly dissipate when his thumb rubs gently across the soft skin of her cheek and she gives into him, truly and wholly. Her hands come to rest on his chest, and she lets herself melt into the taste of his lips. She doesn’t even realise she’s out of breath until she pulls away and has to gasp for air.

When her eyes flutter back open, she’s met with Natsu’s brows furrowed as though he’s been gripped in concentration. The sight of it catches her off guard, and she can’t do anything but laugh at the absurdity of it.

“What? Why are you laughing?” He asks, sounding almost offended. “Was it bad?”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “It wasn’t bad.”

It causes a flutter in her heart to know that he cares this much. Natsu goes through life not caring about what others think about the things he does, so to think he worries what she thinks about their kiss says a lot.

“Well, good, ‘cause you said that you wanted me to kiss you again.”

Her face comes up in a flush at his words as she’s forced to remember the events of the previous night. Just because things are looking like they’re smoothing over doesn’t make it any less embarrassing.

“And I dunno,” he murmurs. “I kinda wanted to kiss you again too.”

At his words, she feels her face is flushing for a different reason.

“I’m not good at talkin’ ‘bout my feelings,” he says, pulling her out of her thoughts. “But I don’t want things to be weird between us like this.”

“Yeah, me either,” she replies.

“You’re my best friend,” he starts. “I know you probably think I’m too stupid to have noticed that things have been different between us the past couple of months, but I have.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” she tells him, her voice soft and airy, tender and gentle.

“Yeah well… I dunno. I think you’re cool, and I like being with you, and lately I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout us as—y’know.”

He cuts off there as if he’s waiting for her to fill in the blanks, but all she can do is regard him with expectant gaze.

“As boyfriend and girlfriend,” he says.

She’s taken aback by how up-front he is about it. They’ve been tiptoeing around it all summer long, trying to dodge the conversation at his skittish avoidance, but now he’s suddenly the one to bring it up.

“I never really cared about that sorta stuff before, but I know you do, and I thought I’d be okay when you finally decided you wanted to start dating, but the thought of you doing all that dumb romantic stuff with another guy didn’t make me feel good either,” he continues. “And I guess I realised it’s because I wanna do that stuff with you.”

Suddenly, his words put everything that’s happened over the past year into perspective. She’s always worried what she has read as romantic subtext is just her looking for something where it’s not and that this is just the natural progression of their relationship—that Natsu’s just like that. Natsu tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, but rarely does he share his innermost thoughts, even with her, so all she can really do is make assumptions and wait for a moment like this where he finally starts to truly open up.

“I thought maybe if I said that’s what I wanted then things would change, and I don’t like when things change, but I guess the more I thought about it, the more I realised things probably wouldn’t be all that different,” he tells her. “I think dating is kinda dumb, but I don’t think it’d be dumb if it was with you.”

She’s usually the words girl and he’s usually the actions boy but in this moment, he’s left her speechless. Her heart thumps hard in her chest, and she wonders if she heard him right. There’s so much she wants to say to him, but she’s not at all prepared, so there’s only one thing she can do.

Her hands shoot up to his face, cradling his jaw, and she practically throws herself into his lap as she kisses him.

He’s taken off guard for a moment, but he quickly gives in, and his hands tangle in her hair, and they fall into the sand.

Her heart is so full after yearning for so long that she could almost cry, and perhaps if she weren’t otherwise preoccupied, she just might.

When she finally pulls away, she gets a glimpse of him beneath her in the moonlight, grin plastered across his face and sand stuck in his hair. This moment makes all the pain, the pining, the waiting worth it.

If she had known it would be this easy, she would have done it long ago, but she knows Natsu, and she knows that he needed his own time to figure himself out. She would have waited forever for him if that’s what it took. As she looks down at his smile and feels the tingle of his taste lingering against her lips, she’s glad she didn’t have to.

“Is that a yes?” He asks with a knowing grin plastered across his face, which tells her he already knows.

She doesn’t bother to dignify him with an answer—she just leans down and presses her lips to his, hoping that after so long, he’ll finally get the message.

[brokenstar-s]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: QSMP | Quackity SMP Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fred (QSMP)/Toby Smith | Tubbo, Fred (QSMP) & Toby Smith | Tubbo Characters: Toby Smith | Tubbo, Fred (QSMP), FitMC (Video Blogging RPF), Tarik Pacanhan | Pactw, Phil Watson | Philza Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, Fred(QSMP)-centric, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Everyone Is Gay Summary:

Tubbo stood still, hearing his name echoing over the mic’s speakers from the escort and not really realizing what that meant. What was going to happen. He just wanted to work on his projects-so why was he chosen as a tribute instead?

-

WA02 had lived their life as a tool for the Capital. Perfectly made for their role, loyal to the Capital and Panem. They had been prepared to see the games happen like they did every year-but this year was different. This time, their world had changed; and so had their loyalties.

-

(Hunger games au with Frubbo and some morning crew)

[nanaslutt]

guys what the fwick (;° ロ°)