~She'd be dipped if he wasn't burning her clothes off on purpose.~

Singed

He had great control over his fire. She knew he did, but she'd be dipped if he still didn't overdo it every single time. She'd watched him that day with Asuka, firing out his little pellets of embers, each one hitting right on the mark. He could control where it went, and he could control how much fire he produced.

He could. And yet that goofy sheepish grin always came onto his face after a job was done, the town they'd protected from the monster smoldering in the background.

"Woops," he'd say, laughing awkwardly and giving her that child-like smile.

She'd sigh, watching her rent money go up in smoke. She wasn't sure whether he just got too caught up in the moment, or if he just simply didn't want to control his power. He had fun going all-out, after all.

And while no, she didn't enjoy having to go on extra jobs just to make ends meet when she should've been able to pay for necessities with just one outing, it was just who Natsu was. She couldn't change him.

However, her suspicions slowly arose the more she was with him. He'd burned houses, carriages, forests, beasts, even the unsuspecting criminal, but she'd never been burned herself.

Until that one job. It'd been a cinch. So easy he could do it with his eyes closed, and with his eyes closed he did. And before she could say anything to stop him, he'd turned her way and bam, his fire engulfed her.

She flinched, waiting for the pain, but it never came. But when she opened her eyes, something much worse than pain, embarrassment, made her face a brighter red than any flame he could produce. She screamed, covering herself as best she could with her hands. He'd burned the clothes right off her.

He laughed, along with Happy as she scrambled to find something to wear, the townspeople whistling and catcalling to her.

It'd been a fluke… and yet it'd happened again not only a week later. She didn't have a single burn from his fire, but her clothes hadn't withstood the heat.

He'd said it was an accident, laughing and brushing it off, but when the number of times ticked upwards of five, she knew he had to be doing it on purpose.

He could control his fire, even if he pretended he couldn't. He could be so precise he could singe the fabric from her skin without touching her.

When confronted he'd laugh animatedly, saying she was silly and he'd never do that and oh, did she want to go get dinner? He always changed the subject.

And so instead of arguing with him, or telling him he was such a liar, and that he knew exactly what he was doing, and instead of taking the humiliation of nakedness again, she decided to outwit him.

And the next time she was engulfed in his flames, her new fire-proof clothing keeping her completely covered and unscathed, even after his flames ceased, nothing was more satisfying than the look of slight disappointment on his face and the knowing look on her face that told him he'd been caught red-handed.

The Number Sequence and Lots of Prompts Challenge - #4 - accidental

Just an incredibly goofy little thing. Natsu likes to play the oblivious card in my mind. I think he's a lot smarter than people take him for. XD

Thank you so much for the absolutely fantastic reviews and whatnot! I always love to hear what you thought! :D

~Foxtail-chan