#cos he put his heart and soul into that salad that at first glance could easily come off as just another salad

[phoneboxfairy]

A Dance of Stars - Undercover Dancer 2 (1/5)

(I lied. Thanks to @random-rave for the concept, outline, etc etc. Chapter 2 should be up in a couple weeks.)  ao3 link - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22918666/chapters/54782566 Magnolia Magic Police Department, lunch time.

The city was going through a rather slow time crime-wise, with only a few reports on minor incidents needing to be dealt with lately. The same thing happened every spring, with more people focusing on enjoying the weather than breaking the law.

That’s why Lucy sat at her desk flipping through an intimidating pile of paperwork while she munched on her chef’s salad. Her brow was furrowed, and she was so caught up in her reading that she didn’t even notice movement at the desk next to hers.

Specifically, she didn’t see Natsu wheel his chair over until his warm hand was massaging her shoulder.

“What’s up, babe?”

“Hey, Natsu. I’m just looking over financial stuff for the wedding and honeymoon. I never realized how expensive this stuff was...” Heavy sigh. Gentle shoulder squeeze.

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure somethin’ out, even if it takes a while.”

“You’re right. Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem.” His words and the swift kiss that followed made her feel a lot better.

Unfortunately their kiss was interrupted when Cana walked in.

“You guys still sorting out money stuff?”

“Yeah...” Lucy let out a sigh. Natsu squeezed her shoulder again. Cana grinned, this sneaky gleam in her eye. “Why? What are you up to?”

“Oh darling, I’m not up to anything. I just had a little idea that could help you out, that’s all.”

“…Idea?”

“Yep! Given certain past assignments, I think you’d be a natural.” Cana winked. Lucy’s face went bright red. Natsu just looked clueless.

“Does this...idea of yours have anything to do with your boyfriend’s club?”

“Only everything, smart girl.” Lucy wailed. Cana rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that. We all know you had fun dancing last time, and we’ve all seen the videos. You’re damn good at it.”

“She’s phenomenal at it.” Another shoulder squeeze, this one rather amorous. Lucy knew full well what Natsu thought of her dancing.

“Anyway, Bacchus’s club is co-ed, and he’s always looking for new talent…” The lovebirds glanced at each other. Lucy bit her lip, not sure what to do or say or even think about this suggestion.

That was when Natsu broke the silence.

“We could at least give it a try.”

“I guess...wait. What do you mean we, Natsu?”

“Well this is our future we’re talkin’ about. I wanna help.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Duh, for us.”

“I’m sure Bacchus will let you two audition no problem, but only if you want to.” Cana sat at her desk, filing her nail as she waited for a response.

Lucy thought for a moment, eyes on Natsu the whole time. Then…

“Let’s do it.”  

Cana looked mighty pleased with the whole turn of events. Natsu hugged Lucy, clearly thrilled that she was all for this plan.

Lucy smiled...but she knew one thing:

They had a lot of work to do.

~~~ Casual dancing as part of an undercover assignment was not the same as stripping with the intention to earn money. Lucy knew that, and also knew she would have to up her dancing game if she wanted this endeavor to be successful.

In short she would have to put her heart, mind, and soul into this, along with her body.

So she did. She researched and studied, taking notes on a variety of rather steamy strip club video feeds. There was a reason these women were pros. They really knew how to move, how to captivate and seduce with nothing more than the right moves and the perfect expression.

Lucy sighed, suddenly feeling very inadequate.

“Still studyin’?”

Natsu’s voice shook her out of her musing.

“Yeah. Trying to anyway. All these girls seem so...perfect and I’m...not.” Another sigh. He glanced at the screen, shrugged, focused on her.

“You see perfect, I see flat, boring, disinterested. The opposite of you, Luce.”

“You...you mean that…?”

“Duh. Every night you got on stage you always seemed happy to be there. You were winning the crowd and having fun with it. That’s pretty damn perfect to me. But then, you’re perfect to me.”

“Thanks, Natsu.” A sweet kiss with a hint of spice. “Want a special preview of my audition?”

“You bet I do.” Another, arguably steamier, kiss. She giggled and led him to their bedroom with a finger wiggle and a smile.

So she danced for him, giving him the show of a lifetime as she peeled off her uniform.

...Then she handcuffed him to the bedpost and climbed on top of him, eager to convey exactly how much she loved and appreciated him.

Much later, after both were quite satisfied and the cuffs were removed, Natsu pulled Lucy into a cuddle.

“You’re gettin’ better at dancin’.”

“Thanks, love...” Two sleepy mumbles followed by a kiss and a snore as they dozed off in one another’s arms. For the first time since this whole dancing thing reared its head, Lucy felt comfortable with it, even confident…

...All thanks to a certain pink haired goofball... ~~~ Flash forward to the following afternoon. Natsu and Lucy went to Bacchus’s club well before business hours. Cana met them at the door and led them to the main stage area, where Bacchus sat.

Introductions were made. Hands were shaken.

“Lucy, you first. Let’s see your magic.” She gulped, trying to keep stage fright from setting in. Natsu noticed, squeezed her hand, kissed her cheek, whispered.

“You’ve got this, baby. Go on.”

She bit her lip and nodded, then made her way to the stage as the lights dimmed.

Hypnotic beats, the same song she had practiced to countless times. Even last night with Natsu she had been a little shy, a little hesitant.

But not now.

All that hesitation and shyness?

Gone.

Her every move commanded attention. Even the subtle motions like nibbling her lip and unzipping her top conveyed raw sexual energy. Power. Less shy rookie girl, a bit closer to goddess.

And she knew it, from the dark gleam in her eyes and the saucy smile. She dropped the top to the ground, let her hands brush over her breasts, barely concealed by a little black string bikini. Those same hands pushed the soft material to the side, a trick she had learned from all her research. A loud whistle from the corner.

She spun around the pole, turned to face away from her quite captivated audience. Her hips swayed in time with the music, and her skirt fell down her legs.

Another trick, upside down splits. The bikini bottoms were untied and tossed right at her lover, revealing a tiny shimmering thong underneath. One last twirl around the pole, finishing with her legs in the air and her hair swirling around her.  Her heart was racing, blood was rushing to her head.

And she was smiling. Holy shit, she had forgotten just how much fun dancing was.

Standing ovation from Cana, Bacchus, and Natsu. No surprise, Natsu was beaming and cheering.

"That's my woman right there!"

Moments later she was standing upright again, re-adjusting her bikini as Cana and Bacchus deliberated. The look on Natsu’s face exuded pure pride over his girl’s talents.

“Pretty hot, Lu.” Cana nudged her boyfriend, who was acting almost...disinterested? Aloof? “What did ya think, Bacchy?”

“I think I’ve seen worse from girls who’ve been doing this for years. You’re hired.”

Instant relief teamed with joy. Lucy squealed. Natsu grabbed her, spun her around, and kissed her.

“Told ya.”

“You definitely did. Thanks, Natsu.” Nose nuzzle. For a few sweet seconds they cuddled, until  Bacchus’s voice brought them back to earth.

“Alright, pinky. You’re up.”

Natsu nodded, all smiles as he went to the stage. Lucy relaxed, knowing that someone as confident as he was couldn’t possibly mess this up…

Or, that’s what she thought she knew. She didn’t realize, couldn’t have predicted, just how wrong she could be.

The whole routine, if you could call it that, was a trainwreck.

First sign of trouble – he made a bee line to the pole. His grin expressed confidence. His actions expressed complete and utter foolishness.

“What the hell is he doing?!” She could hear Bacchus growling to Cana over the music. The feeling of dread that had started pooling in her tummy spread through her body, heating her cheeks in an embarrassed blush. If she could have crawled under the table and hid, she very likely would have.

What….was he doing? Well, by the looks of it, he was trying to imitate Lucy’s dance moves...trying being the operative word. It was, after all, rather difficult considering how different their bodies were. A man simply could not do this sort of dance the same way a woman could.

To his credit, he did look pretty sexy when he pulled his shirt up over his head...at least until his arms got tangled.

Then to make the whole thing worse, once he managed to wriggle the shirt off he grabbed the pole, tried to spin but ended up tripping over his own feet and faceplanting into the stage floor with an “oof!”

“Okay, we’re done here.” Bacchus groaned. He gestured and the music stopped. Lucy ran over to help Natsu up off the ground, her need to support her fiance overwhelming any embarrassment she felt...which in this case was a lot.

She honestly wanted to glare at him, but the sad, apologetic look he flashed her quenched any anger. Instead, she felt bad for him, sympathetic. He had at least tried, the poor dummy. So she squeezed his hand, hoping to convey loving support. Right now she knew he needed it.

“Natsu, man, you’re gonna need a lot of work before I let you on my stage again.”

Natsu nodded. He didn’t look embarrassed, mostly disappointed. He sat down while the others discussed scheduling, taking a rare moment of silent thought.

“Thursdays, Fridays, and weekends are our busiest days. We need all the talent we can get to bring customers in.”

“That’s...perfect, actually. It’s down time at the precinct so we’re off Friday through Monday right now.” She smiled. She was trying her best to play it cool but the truth is, she felt pretty excited.

“Great. Now let’s get this over with. Here’s the club’s rules and security waiver. Read through these and sign when you’re done.”

Once all the necessary paperwork had been signed, they shook hands again. Bacchus said something that made Lucy’s eyes brighten. Then he took a swig from his hip flask and went to his office, claiming a need to work on business stuff.

Cana grinned a sneaky grin and patted Lucy’s ass before sneaking off to presumably join her boyfriend.

Business stuff, indeed…

That left Lucy alone with Natsu. She slipped her skirt and top back on then walked over to him. One hand stroked over his shoulder.

“How’re you feeling, love?”

“Bummed but I’ll get over it.” Heavy exhale. Then he took one look at Lucy, grinned, and pulled her into his arms. Flirting and cuddling always helped when he was in a bad mood. “You were incredible out there, by the way. Even better than usual.”

“Thanks.” Sexy grin. They shared a delicious kiss. Her hand ruffled through his hair and their noses touched.  “Oh...Bacchus said to tell you something.”

“Huh? What’d he say?”

“He wants to give you a second chance, but only if you take it seriously. Get lots of practice...and don’t just try to copy me, alright?”

“It’s hot when you do it, though.” He nibbled her lip and let one hand roam under her skirt.

“Down, boy. Not till we get home.” Soft giggle and finger waggle. “I can train you if you want. Give you private lessons when we’re not on call...you’ll be dancin’ like a pro in no time...You already have the body for it...” To emphasize this she traced a finger over from his shoulder to his collarbone.

“Private lessons, huh?”

“Yeah. Just you and me, one on one...” She was so close to him she could hear his heart racing as she brushed her lips against his ear. She knew damn well she was playing with fire...oh well, they’d deal with that particular “problem” when they got home… “You like that idea?”

He nodded. His next words, a growl. “I’m all fired up now, Lucy.”