"Love is like a blazing flame, golden and full of warmth." Ben Oliver

Lucy just arrived home after a long tiring day on a mission. Her and Natsu ended up going alone this time, since Erza, Gray and Happy had other plans for the day. Erza had to run an errand for the Master, Gray was whisked away by Juvia and Happy wanted to spend some time with Carla.

It was a simple job, really. They just had to retrieve a package from the town nearby and deliver it safely to the client. But of course, it could never be so simple with this things. They were attacked on the way back by some mercenaries, who tried to steal the package, naively thinking that it would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. How wrong they were. Natsu went on a rampage, getting unexplainably angry and sending the thieves flying in a couple of attacks, burning some trees in the process. The rest of the way he was grumbling about the 'annoying distractions', 'bad timing' and 'spoiled moments'. Lucy just tried to ignore this strange behaviour and pressed onward, dreaming of finally completing the job and getting home to her bath.

After the package was safely delivered and money received, she quickly said goodbye to Natsu and almost ran home for her long-awaited relaxation time.

Now, relaxed and refreshed after a long bath, she sat down at her desk to continue working on her novel. The day before, Levi suggested a new topic for her to explore in writing, the one Lucy was putting off as long as she could - romance. Lucy begrudgingly thought back to the conversation.

"Hey, Lu-chan!" The voice of her best friend startled her a little.
"Levy-chan! You are back from your job? I'm guessing it went well since you returned so soon?"

"Yes, thankfully it went without a hitch, we were done really quickly." Levy sat down next to Lucy smiling happily at her.

"I wish it was as easy for our team." Lucy dropped her head on the table. "Every time we do a job, we either have some unpredicted complications, or have to pay half of our reward for the repairs!"

She groaned in desperation at the antics of her team and just her personal luck.

Levy giggled at her best friend and hugged her to make her feel better. "Don't worry about it, Lu- chan, it will get better with time."

Lucy just smiled appreciatively at her and put her head back on the table.

"Oh, oh, by the way, Lu-chan, how is your novel going?" Levy almost jumped from excitement. Lucy quickly looked up at her friend, feeling more comfortable with the new topic.

"I think it's going great! I managed to write a few new chapters, while you were gone. And they are looking pretty good, if I do say so myself!" She smiled brightly, proud of her accomplishment.

"I can't wait to read them! Speaking of which, I was thinking about the previous couple of chapters you showed me and I have a question." Lucy felt a little puzzled about the uncertainty heard in Levy's voice, so nudged her to continue with a nod. "You see," Levy slowly continued, "your novel definitely has interesting aspects to it, there are a lot of adventures and suspense. But I think the story is missing one thing - romance."

"Romance?" Lucy could only stare at her dumbfoundedly. She thought that her story didn't necessarily need any of the romance. It was an adventure story, not a romance novel.

"Yes, romance. The whole adventuring and mysteries to solve part is fun, of course. But with a slight touch of romance it would bring out new emotions and even more plot possibilities and twists, don't you think?" Lucy found herself nodding to this argument, already imagining, how could she totally use it to spice up the action and even bring together few loose ends she had trouble with before.

And now she sat at her desk, staring at the blank piece of paper in front of her and cursing herself with always getting her hopes up too much. She understood that Levy's idea was very valuable, but... She had no idea how to write romantic scenes! All of the times she tried, it felt so unnatural and strained that she was crumbling the paper time after time.

"And how can I write anything decent," she grumbled under her nose, "how can I, if I don't even have any personal experience!" Lucy knew that a good writer always uses his or her personal experiences in order to write a good piece of work. And since she didn't have any of that...

Frustrated, Lucy got up from her chair and started pacing across her room, thinking of a solution to her problem. The easiest way to solve it, was, of course, to gain some personal experience. But since she was single and no one even in sights, she quickly discarded that idea. Other way was to read up on different romantic novels and to try and recreate the feelings in her own story afterwards. That idea was useless too, because Lucy already read huge amount of romantic books, and it didn't help her own writing one bit.

She tiredly flopped on her bed, huffing in frustration. "What can I do about it?!" She suddenly exclaimed at her predicament. She stared at the ceiling, thinking through the romantic novels she read before. 'I guess, the first thing to consider in a romantic scene are the feelings of the participants.' She started to analyse the process of writing romance in her head. 'The feelings are important to properly describe the interactions. I need to know the feelings of the characters and always keep them in mind, so that every movement and every word the say will be based on something, not just coming out of thin air. But then again, to reliably convey their reactions... I need to know myself, how would I react? What would I feel in a certain situation? I just don't know... How does love feel? Is it butterflies in the stomach? Is it the physical need to be near the person you love? Does it hurt? Why does it hurt? When? Is it easy? Is it hard? Is it a freedom? Or is it a restriction?' There were so many thoughts and questions swirling in Lucy's mind, none finding an answer. But unbeknownst to her, every single question tagged at her own memories. Every question found a connection to her own life, her own experience, without her even realising it.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even hear a rustling at her window. "Lucy, are you alright?" His deep voice snapped Lucy out of her trance. She quickly looked at the shadow on her windowsill, only now registering, how dark it was outside.

"Natsu, is that you?" She whispered, even forgetting to scold him for breaking into her apartment without an invitation, again.

Natsu looked at her curiously, questioning her unusual behaviour. "Yeah, it's just me." He hopped down from the window and sat next to her on the bed. "You looked so deep in thought. Sorry for disturbing you. Is something the matter?"

Lucy sighed, again thinking about her dilemma. "Not really. I just have trouble writing my story. I don't have any inspiration for the part I'm working on..." Natsu looked surprised at her words. She never discussed her writing with him before. "Oh." Was the only response he could master.

Celestial mage shook her head to get rid of her fatigued state. "Did you want something?" She eyed her friend curiously. He usually didn't visit her so late, but when he did, he always was either after her food or her bed. God knows how many times he sneaked in late at night, while she was asleep, just because her bed was more comfortable than his own. But he never visited her like that, strangely quiet and serious.

"I guess, I just wanted to spend some time with you. We were interrupted during the mission, those mercenaries totally spoiled the mood." Lucy's heart flattered a little at the idea of him wanting to spend time with her. Not because he wanted something, but just like that. It was never like that with him. Usually it was really loud and messy, always joking around with Happy, teasing her quirks, head-butting with Gray and challenging everyone to a fight. No, this was definitely different. But it felt good. It felt right.

"Thanks." She smiled, extending her hand to squeeze his. Their touch sent a spark up her arm. His hand was really warm. 'No wonder,' she thought, 'he is a Fire Dragon Slayer, after all.' The heat, radiating from his body, pacified her, calming her racing mind.

Natsu slightly smiled at their joined hands. "For what?" Her answer was simple. "For being here with me."

She felt the temperature around him flaring up, almost burning her hand at the intensity of it. She couldn't explain this sudden outburst. Did she do or say something wrong?

Slowly, the heat had died down, indicating Natsu calming himself. "Lucy, I..." He trailed off without continuing his sentence. She's never seen him so uncertain before. He almost looked vulnerable. What was on his mind, she wondered. "What's wrong Natsu? Are you feeling alright?" She sat up to get closer to him. She was worried about him. He acted weird, from the first moment he appeared at her windowsill tonight.

He looked at her startled, as if uncomfortable from her closeness. She felt him fidgeting around. "Natsu, please tell me that everything is okay. I'm getting worried now!"

He looked at her, as if surprised with her concern towards him. "Of course everything is alright!" He exclaimed. "I'm just... just..." She felt him turning around and suddenly enveloping her in an embrace. "Natsu?" She was shocked at his unexplainable outburst.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, I just down know how to explain." He slowly moved back to look at her. His face was so close right now. Her gaze accidentally fell on his lips. The whole situation felt so entrancing, even hypnotic. She wasn't thinking anymore, just feeling. She felt his heart pounding so close to her. She felt his erratic breath on her face. She felt heat radiating from him. She felt electricity crackling around them. And without even acknowledging her actions, she leaned forward, and captured his lips.

His body tensed up against hers, startled by her sudden action. But only moments after, she felt him relaxing and giving in to the kiss. This feeling... it was magical. Their lips moving in unison together, temperature rising with every passing second. Her hand sneaked in his spiky mess of hair, which were surprisingly soft to the touch. His embrace tightened around her, bringing them even closer together. His hand lightly drew circles over her exposed skin on her back, flaring up her skin and creating a quite moan deep within her throat. This seemed to send Natsu's control over the edge, and Lucy found herself being flipped on her back and her mouth ravished by his. Their passion was rising, their hands wondering each other's bodies.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open, when the realisation struck her, breaking their kiss in a process. She was kissing Natsu? She stared at him, bewildered, thoughts in chaotic mess. The look on his face was one of a confusion, which quickly changed into an utter horror. He quickly scooted over to the edge of the bed, mouth gaping, as if he tried to say something. Silence weighed on them, increasing their emotional turmoil.

Natsu seemed to snap out of his daze and buried his face in his hands. Lucy was scared. Did she ruin everything with her sudden outburst? Did he hate her now? This questions were pulling at her heart, horrifying her. She couldn't understand her feelings. Why the thought of him hating her hurt so much?

"Lucy, I'm so sorry!" His low whisper snapped her out of her contemplation. Why was he apologising? He wasn't the one to screw everything up. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not like this! I don't know if you'll ever forgive me..." He trailed of, his face still in his hands. What did he mean by that? Not like this? Did it mean that he wanted it to happen before it happened? Unsure of what to do, Lucy slowly rose from her bed and kneeled in front of Natsu. She hated seeing him like this. Lost, in pain, panic written all over his face. She gently tagged at his hands, making him look at her for the first time since their kiss. He was so unsure of himself at this moment, so vulnerable. She never could've imagined she would ever see him like this.

"Natsu. What do you mean?" Her quite murmur seemed to startle him. He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze. "Natsu, please, look at me. It's not like you. You are strong, and brave, and funny, and always happy. And I love all of this about you. I hate to see you like this." She was just trying to calm him down, boost his courage for him to explain, what worried him so much. But she wasn't lying. She loved this about him. And so much more. She loved his toothy grin, his love of his friends and his burning desire to protect all of them. She loved his stupid jokes and even his ridiculous motion sickness. She loved everything about him. Unknown emotion was swelling up in her chest, consuming her. "So please, tell me what's bothering you. I want to help."

Natsu carefully watched her, with an expression she never saw on him before. And then he snapped. He slid down from the bed to kneel in front of her, burying his face in her neck. His ragged breath sent shivers up her spine, while the words poured out of his mouth. "I'm so sorry, Lucy. I just didn't know what to do, how to explain myself. I've never felt this way before. I didn't know how to act on this emotions. I tried to push them out of my mind and out of my heart, but I just couldn't. It consumed me. It left me burning. Every time I look at you, hell, every time I think of you. It's warm. In here." He quickly snatched her hand and placed it on his chest. He was burning. And his words set her ablaze along with him. She felt his passion. She felt his desire.

He looked deep into her eyes. "And then I understood. I love you, Lucy. With everything I've got, with everything I am. I don't know, how it'll go from here. Shit, I don't even know if you'll want me after everything I've done. But I just wanted you to hear it." He finished his confession, panting from all the pent up emotions. She could only stare at him in awe, frozen in her place. He loved her? This dense, carefree dragon slayer loved her? And then everything made perfect sense. His anger at the mercenaries and his strange words after, his weird behaviour earlier on... At this realisation her heart squeezed even tighter, leaving her breathless from the overload of emotions she was experiencing. But from all the chaos going through her mind, she could pinpoint one feeling that dominated all the others. She was happy. She was ecstatic.

Her long silence weighed down on Natsu. He quickly got up on his feet, whispering. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I never meant to hurt you. I'll understand if you don't want to see me for a while." As he was turning to leave, Lucy tackled him on the bed, pinning him underneath her. She wouldn't let him go after everything that happened.

She saw his puzzled face, staring at her in surprise. Now it was her turn to talk. "My stupid dragon slayer..." She leaned in closer to him, their faces only inches apart. "I'm sorry I was so dense. I never realised." She moved in even closer, almost touching his lips with her own. "And you know what, Natsu?" He was so entranced by her, only mastering one word. "What?" "I think, I love you too." She closed their distance and carefully kissed him. This time, it was different. This time, it wasn't a momentarily passion. There was only love. Their kiss was slow, careful, as if they both were afraid of hurting one another. The time stood still for them, they revelled in their feelings and each other.

It was over far too quickly. They stared at each other, still processing what was happening to them. Natsu brought his hand up to her face, cupping her cheek. "So..." He trailed off. "You love me?" His voice inquiring, seeking the confirmation to his hopes and dreams.

"I do." She answered, turning her head slightly to kiss his palm.

His eyes lit up with happiness and he brought her closer to him with a hug. She just smiled and buried her face in his neck. Their bodies finally relaxed, as they drifted to sleep, still in a each other's arms, legs intertwined.

It was hot. She woke up drenched in sweat. She felt disoriented, confused. Why was it so hot? She tried to get up, but something pinned her to the bed, restricting her movements. She lifted her head, only to see pink hair on the pillow next to her. Natsu. He sprawled across the bad, in a shape of a star, an arm and a leg lying on her body. She softly chuckled at his sleeping form, trying not to wake him up, while getting from underneath him.

She went to the bathroom to cool herself down. 'How can he always be so hot?' She thought, while splashing herself with cold water. 'I guess I better get used to it now...' She blushed at her stray thought.

She was happy. Like never before in her life. He loved her. This incredibly dense, opposite-sex challenged dragon slayer really loved her. And she loved him back. She wasn't sure, how it happened. In one moment she was happy to be with her best friend. In the next, she was happy to be in love with him.

She returned to her bedroom, pausing in the doorway to watch him. He was always so lively and reckless, never slowing down. Now he looked different. Still, peaceful. Happy. He was smiling in his sleep. 'I wonder what he is dreaming about.' Lucy quietly giggled. Now she just couldn't go back to sleep anymore, she was wide awake.

She walked to her desk and stared at an empty piece of paper, that filled her with dreads only hours ago. Now she was feeling inspiration. She had to write what was on her mind and in her heart. She sat down and lost herself in writing.

In the end, it didn't turn out to be for her novel. It was a small vignette about the feeling that enveloped her whole being. She wrote about love. About her idea of love, anyway. She proudly looked at her work.

Suddenly, Natsu was behind her, leaning down to rest his head on her shoulder, circling his hands around her. "Lucyyy, whatcha doing?" His voice was sleepy, words slurred.

"Just writing. I think, you helped me with my problem." She smiled.

"I did?" He sounded really surprised and happy. She could feel his toothy grin even without looking at him.

"You did." She turned her head and planted a light kiss on his cheek.

"I'm glad. But Lucyyyy..." He whined her name.

She couldn't help but chuckle, before she answered. "Yes, Natsu?"

He puffed his cheeks and tried to pout. He was adorable. "I want to sleeeep. But you are not there, so I can't."

"Alright, Natsu, I'm done. We can go back to sleep now." He perked up at this words and lifted her up from the chair to carry her to bed.

"Natsu!" A squeal escaped her lips from his sudden movement. "Natsuu, I can walk by myself, you know!" She pouted.

"I know, but I like this way better." He grinned in return.

"Stupid Natsu." She giggled, when he dropped her on the bed and crawled in beside her. She turned to her side, searching for a comfortable position. She felt Natsu shifting behind her, drawing her closer to him. She felt herself relaxing, falling asleep in his warm embrace.

A week later, she was waiting at the guild for Levy. The day before she gave her best friend a new chapter of her novel, for the first time containing romance. She was fidgeting, nervous to know Levy's reaction.

Guild's door flew open, showing tiny form of Solid Script mage. "Levy!" Lucy exclaimed, rushing to her through the bustling guild.

"Good morning, Lu-chan!" There was excitement heard in her voice. "So, what did you think?" Lucy was to excited to answer her greeting.

"I thought it was great Lu-chan! I could easily imagine how the couple felt. And it fits perfectly with a flow of the story too! You see, it was exactly what you needed for your story."

"Thank God! Thanks, Levy-chan! I'm so relieved you liked it." The blond exhaled, relieved. "I was really worried about this chapter, I could never make romance work in my writing before."

"Don't worry, you did a great job! Although..." Levy trailed off, deeply in thought.

"Although what?" Celestial mage was getting worried again. Was it still not good enough?

"I was just thinking. What if in the following chapters you'll make it even more exciting?"

"Exciting?" Now Lucy was confused. What did her friend mean?

"Yeah, you know. Spice it up a little. Let the passion rise."

"Let... the passion... rise?" Lucy was so confused, she could only repeat after bluenette. And then it hit her.

"Levyyy!" She exclaimed, deep red from embarrassment. "You know I can't write something like that!"

"Why not? It would really make this novel awesome. Just think about it, okay? I never hurts to try. See you later, Lu-chan!" And the girl ran off to find the members of her team.

Lucy just stood there, her face still red. She was so deep in thought, she didn't even see Natsu approach her.

"Hey, Lucy! Are you alright? Your face is so red!" He poked her cheek, his grin wide.

"Oh, hi, Natsu. I'm okay, just thinking. Levy suggested something new for my novel, but I don't know how to write it." She confessed to him.

"You have trouble writing again?" His face suddenly lit up. "Oh, oh, I have an idea! Before, you told me that I helped you with your problem, right? So, I'll help you this time too! Problem solved, see!" She just stared at him, dumbstruck. To help her with this topic, they would need to...

"Kyaaa!" She yelped, and ran out of the guild, closely followed by Natsu, who had no idea, what he just proposed.

The End!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story. Please, rate & review! Constructive criticism is appreciated! ;)