Charred cookies

Chapter 1/1

In her riverside, Magnolia apartment full of house plants, Sara sat journaling in her cozy loft. At the top of the ladder, a pink fluff appeared.

“Hey Sara! There ya are. Whatcha doin’ up here all by your lonesome? Yer supposed to be at the guild party!”

“Not now, Natsu…” Sara stared down at the floor, not meeting his gaze. “I’ve decided I’m not going…but you should go have fun with the others.”

“C’mon, everyone’s lookin’ fer ya! You don’t wanna miss this one, trust me!”

“I’ll sit this one out, thanks. My brothers are there, they can tell me all about it later…”

“Don’t be silly! Yer gonna be with ‘em! Now let’s go!” Natsu crouched down to get her to look him in the eyes at last. “Sara?! Were you…crying??”

Sara wiped her eyes and slowly nodded. She sighed deeply.

Natsu gritted his teeth. “Who did this to you? Who made you cry? When I get my hands on them…”

“Natsu, no one made me cry. I’m just…in a poor mental state right now. I made cookies for the party, but I was so distracted I ended up burning them and…I guess that was the straw that broke the camels back.” Sara sniffed.

“Yer cryin’ over some burnt cookies? Show ‘em to me, I’ll show ‘em who’s boss!”

“Didn’t you smell them when you came in?! It smells like smoke!”

“They can’t be that bad!” Natsu turned and marched off in the direction of the kitchen.

“It’s not the cookies that made me cry!” Sara got up and followed him down the ladder. “It’s…nevermind.”

In the kitchen, Natsu located the trays of chocolate chip cookies. “They smell yummy to me! They don’t even look burnt.”

“Look at the bottom.”

Natsu picked up a cookie and turned it over. “So they’re a little black on the bottom, so what? Perfectly edible!” He tossed it into his mouth and crunched it up. “Tastes fine!” He said with his mouth full of cookie.

“But I can’t show up to the party with charred cookies! I’m just going to toss them.”

“Well, then, lemme help ya by tossin’ em in my belly!” Natsu grabbed a handful of cookies and gobbled them up.

“But. there’s…so many of them…” Sara trailed of as she watched him inhale a whole tray of cookies in one go.

As he rapidly gorged himself on the still-warm cookies, Sara couldn’t help but sneak a glance down at Natsu’s bare stomach. His belly rapidly began to expand as he stuffed it with enough burnt cookies for a whole guild.

“Geez, don’t you want some milk or something? They’re so dry…” Sara took out a fresh gallon from the fridge to pour him a glass, but he had other plans.

Natsu grabbed the jug, flicked off the cap, and started chugging. The amount of milk he sucked down made his belly bloat out further, making her blush.

He grabbed the last tray and dumped the burnt cookies down his gullet, before he gulped down the last of the milk and wiped away his milk moustache. Finally, he leaned on the counter, and released a huge, fiery belch before he smacked his round belly. “Ya make some tasty cookies, Sara, even if they’re burnt! Ya make ‘em from scraaaaatch, right?”

“Yeah,” Sara blushed from his praise, as well as his unabashed gluttony, burping in the middle of his sentence like that. “Thanks, Natsu.” She couldn’t help but smile, glad someone had enjoyed her cookies.

“Now, let’s get goin’ to that guild party!”

“You’re still gonna go out l-like that?!” Sara gestured to his big tummy.

“Well, yeah! A belly full of cookies from Sara is like a badge of honor! Braaaagging rights!" He thumped his chest as he burped again.

"I dunno, I'm not exactly dressed for a party… I should just stay home."

"If ya still don't wanna go, then I'll just hafta carry ya there - in my tummy!"

Sara giggled. "Okay, okay, I'll go with you!"

"But I wanna be yer belly taxi!"

"Okay, how about on the way back?"

"Deal!" Natsu draped his arm across her shoulders, settled her hand on his belly, and set off to escort her to the party.