A/N: Another NaLu piece for your reading pleasure! Well at least I hope it's your pleasure! :) Just had the creative bug lately and writing like a fiend. Hopefully I can get this inspiration for my chapter stories. Annnnyway, moving on, here's some fluffy NaLu goodness!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

"And I told him, dude you ain't SEEN real firepower yet!" Natsu recounted his conversation with with some random guy they had come across in the marketplace.

Lucy had been busy looking at deals on vegetables when Natsu got into a conversation with some guy about fire magic. It wasn't uncommon that Natsu would get stopped by others and asked questions about his dragonslayer magic. After all, he was well known throughout much of Fiore as the fierce Salamander of Fairy Tail. Lucy had to admit that his magic was pretty awe-inspiring. And keeping Natsu distracted while shopping is always a plus. She often found that his 'help' during shopping was more of a hindrance than anything else. Except when it came to lugging the bags afterward. That was a job he was perfectly suited for. Strong, energetic, and perfectly willing to help. Today they were getting groceries to take to his house after a bi-weekly cleaning/straightening of his entire abode. It had become a regular habit for her to help him clean up his place, primarily because if she didn't force him to do it, it never got done. The boy would go weeks without doing laundry or dishes, leaving both in various stacks and piles. (Unfortunately, sometimes mixed together.) But they had finished cleaning up his place and gone to the market for some food supplies. Tonight Lucy would be making dinner at Natsu and Happy's house, and spending the evening with them.

Since Lucy started coming over more regularly, Natsu had put more effort into making the place habitable. He now had a semi-decent couch, a couple of chairs, a dining table, and even a bookshelf with some books on it. (Everyone knew the bookshelf was really for Lucy whenever she did decide to hang out there for awhile. Natsu liked to encourage that by add new books every so often that she would happen to notice when she came over.)

"Yeah well I'm glad you didn't try to prove it to him while we were standing right there," she said, smiling at him. "We're on a good streak of you not destroying anything lately."

She laughed and playfully nudged him as they walked. He looked back and feigned offense, putting his hand to his chest and narrowing his eyes.

"ME~? Natsu Dragneel, destroy things? Pfft! No way!" he scoffed indignantly. "I'm as gentle as Aries and as sweet as Plue."

This only made Lucy laugh so hard she snorted a bit, and then laughed more at herself. It took her a moment before she was able to speak intelligibly. Comparing himself to two of her kindest, gentlest spirits was definitely not a fair parallel.

"Sure Natsu,," she said, still laughing as they walked along. "And Taurus is well-mannered prude!" She laughed still, and his resolve finally broke and he laughed with her. They both knew it was pretty ridiculous for him to make such a comparison. They continued their long walk toward Natsu's house, the town growing thinner as they got to the outskirts, closer to the dragonslayer's dwelling.

Lucy looked up at the sky, noticing how gray and dark it had become, the thick clouds now blocking out the sun completely. There was a slight chill in the air as a gust blew past them, sending a chill up her spine.

"Looks like it might rain," Lucy said, readjusting the bag in her arms and motioning to the sky. "Look how gloomy and dark it's gotten in just the last little while."

Natsu looked upward to the sky, squinting slightly, as if inspecting the heavens. He sniffed the air and nodded. He could always smell the rain coming.

"Yup, gonna start pouring any second," he said matter-of factly, shrugging a little. "We're in for a total downpour."

Lucy raised an eyebrow and scoffed a bit. "I'm sure it's not going to just start-" and then her words were cut off by a thunderous rumble from the sky and followed soon after by a crack of lightning that veined across the sky, illuminating up the dark clouds. Lucy gasped, taken by surprise. And at that moment the wind began to pick up as they continued to walk, whipping around them wildly within moments. Then came the rain.

"C'mon Luce! We better run! It's gettin' crazy out here!" Natsu said, turning and taking one of Lucy's hands and proceeded to pull her forward in the direction of his house.

"Aghhhh!" Lucy let out a muffled cry as she tried to keep the bag in her arms steady

Persistent, relentless rain that came down in while sheets, soaking them to the bone as they began to run at top speed through the pouring rain. It was so thick that they could barely see front of themselves as they ran, but thankfully they could rely on Natsu's keen sense of smell to guide them as they moved through the forest area. Before long they reached Natsu's house and clamoured inside, stumbling over the nearest surface and dumping off their grocery bags. By now they were soaked through and Lucy was shivering violently. The rain had turned icy cold, pelting her skin like hard pebbles as it chilled her, bone and all.

"N-n-natsu! A little more warning m-might have been n-nice! I'm s-s-soaking wet!" she stammered, her teeth chattering.

The salmon haired dragonslayer was shaking the excess water out of his hair, not much unlike a canine might do. He stopped and looked at her from head to toe and saw she was saturated completely. He flashed her a smile and raised a hand.

"No problem, Luce! One sec!" he said, turning and heading toward the bathroom. He managed to find a towel that smelled okay (because you know, he didn't want it to be gross or anything). He returned to the common area and tossed her the towel. "There ya go!"

He nodded triumphantly and then turned back to the groceries that were sitting atop his dining table and proceeded to try and wrangle them all at once, his arms ridiculously full of cargo. He turned back toward Lucy and saw standing there, staring at him incredulously. She was holding the towel in her hands, but just standing there. Natsu was confused and she looked slightly flustered.

"Natsu, this-s isn't gonna c-c-cut it. I'm g-gonna have to do s-something to dry out my c-c-clothes!" she said, her teeth still chattering as she wrapped her arms around herself in some vague attempt to gain warmth. He just looked at her for a minute and then it clicked.

"Oh! I know!" he said, once again unloading the groceries from his arms to the tabletop and turned to cross the room. Lucy watched him as he went to the pot bellied stove in the middle of his living room area, and began putting in pieces of wood. He looked back at her and grinning, giving her a little wink.

"We'll have you warmed up in a jiff, Luce!" he said excitedly, turning back to the stove. Once there was enough wood in it, he ignited his own fist and provided the necessary sparks to get the fire going.

Soon it was roaring full force within the belly of the old cast iron stove, pumping heat into the small living room area. Lucy gasped and scurried over to it, putting her hands out to test the warm. She could feel the heat radiating from the old stove, and it felt like absolute heaven! Finally some much desired warm. The celestial mage stood there for a long while, trying to absorb as much heat as possible, but the fact remained that her clothing was still soaked. Even as she tried to warm herself up, her teeth continued to chatter and she still felt a strong chill running through her. Natsu watched her, his mouth set in a frown.

"I'll be right back," he said quickly, disappearing into another room. He resurfaced again quickly, seemingly having retrieved something from the other room. He tossed it to her and grinned.

"There ya go!" he said, nodding, satisfied with himself. She pulled the crumpled material from her arm where it hung loosely and examined it. It was one of Natsu's oversized t-shirts. Lucy's face went flush as she realized what he was implying.

"What are you thinking, baka?!" she said, blushing furiously. "I can't wear this!"

"C'mon Luce, you can't stay in those clothes. You're soaked! And if you want them to dry out, you're gonna have to change into something else, so that's why I brought you the shirt!" he argued reasonably.

Dammit. For once Natsu was being the smart levelheaded one, and she didn't really have much room to argue. The fact of the matter was, she was wearing soaking wet clothes and was freezing her butt off, and the only rational thing to do was to get out of them. But wear one of Natsu's t-shirts? It seemed so...intimate… She blushed again at the thought. She'd be walking around his house in nothing more than a t-shirt and her undergarments. Of course, she regularly wore fairly revealing clothing, and the fire mage had already seen her naked on a number of occasions. However, this felt a bit different. It was just the two of them, holed up in his cozy little house, seeking refuge from the turbulent storm that churned outside. Lucy felt her pulse quicken as the situation built up more and more in her head, leaving her absolutely flustered. But all the same, she really did need to change and let her clothes dry out. So, it looked like she was going to have to endure some awkwardness. No big deal. Not the first time, after all.

"Fine, I'll change," she mumbled, still blushing. "But I'm going into the bathroom." She turned on her heels and made a beeline for the bathroom. Natsu grinned. He knew he'd win her over.

Inside the Bathroom

Lucy slowly changed out of her clothes, careful not to stretch or tear any of the material. Her clothing was slightly disheveled from all the rain and running. But no harm done. She folded them in half, making a note to look for a couple of the hangers she had brought over to Natsu's recently. Lucy picked up the large t-shirt and inhaled the scent. It smelled like him. It was clear that he had at least worn the shirt for a short while, but not long enough for it to smell unpleasant. It just had his smoky, spicy scent about it. She actually loved his smell.. She often would unconsciously nuzzle his neck in her sleep, sighing to herself as she smiled through her slumber. She set the shirt back down and reached for the towel she had been carrying. After a quick towel dry for her hair, she managed to scrounge up a comb to run through her hair. It was tangled and messy from all the chaos, and she wanted to take the time to comb it out properly.

"No bird's nests for me, thanks," she muttered out loud, watching herself in the mirror as the worked the comb through her long golden locks.

She couldn't help but take note of her own form a bit as she combed her hair. Tilting her head to the side, she examined herself for a moment, scrutinizing what she saw. She was fairly satisfied with what she saw.. A fit, and trim waistline the flowed into the soft curve of her hips. Her legs were well toned and muscular, usually showcased by her oh so short skirts and collection of boots. She had a pretty hot bod, and she was confident about that, most of the time. The stellar mage did have her weak moments where she doubted her looks and thought maybe she could stand to lose a few pounds. She didn't stay shaken long and usually came around shortly thereafter. While she knew she wasn't perfect, per se, she was pretty happy with who she was.

Though someone made her have all sorts of doubts, but to be fair, he probably was more dense than he was brave. And Natsu was one brave guy. But one thing he wasn't was in tune with his more… primal...desires. The young male wizard might be coming of age in terms of years, but he still had a lot of growing up to do in relationships and romance department. Lucy doubted he even ever thought of her in a romantic way. There had been little things he had done that hinted that he might share her feelings, but, nothing solid that she could definitely bank on. She wasn't sure if he was just comfortable because they were long time partners and best friends, or he felt something else… something more for her.

This is when her self-doubt creeped in. With other guys she could usually tell where their head was at when they approached her, but Natsu was like a steel trap. She had no idea what was going on in his head in that regard, if anything at all was even going on in the first place. She sighed as she reached for the t-shirt and then slipped it over her head. It covered her just enough so that she was decent, but not so much that it didn't show a little skin. The faded black tee hugged her chest a little but billowed out the further down it went. Clearly it was too large for her, but it was dry. And not to mention pretty soft and comfortable. She turned to the side to examine herself once more. I wonder if seeing me like this will have any effect…

"Yeah right!" she laughed out loud, definitely not expecting anything more than Natsu's usual palsy-walsy behaviors. Shrugging, she turned to leave the bathroom.

In the Kitchen

Natsu had gathered all the groceries while Lucy went into the bathroom to change. He figured he'd get things put away while she got settled and then they could think about doing something about dinner. Glancing out the window, he saw the tree whipping and bending in the wind as the rain came in sideways. It was a good thing they had planned to spend the evening in to begin with. The only thing missing now was Happy, but the blue exceed wouldn't be coming home any time soon. So for now the two young wizards were left to their own devices. Natsu had no doubt that it would be a great evening, even it was just him and Lucy.

Of course, not that he minded some time alone with Lucy. To be quite honest, he liked when they were alone sometimes. He didn't know how to explain it, but sometimes...just sometimes… he wanted her all to himself, away from everything and everyone else. He wanted it to be just the two of them, sequestered from the world, simply enjoying each other's presence. Over time, his desire for these moments increased in frequency, the need to be alone with her pulling at him. It was like when they were nestled in her bed together… limbs entwined, her head upon his chest, his arm securely around her waist, bodies pressed together, reveling in the shared warmth. He loved those moments. Some mornings he laid still and feigned sleep just so he could get a little more time to be close to her. And plus, she smelled really, really good. Like honeysuckle flowers and sunshine. Even the description wouldn't make sense to anyone else. It was just… Luce. And she smelled the best right after she showered, all that smelly crap washed away and just the faint, clean smell of soap left on her skin. Ah yeah, that was the best. When she just smelled like herself.

People had questioned the nature of their relationship before, trying to beg the question of whether or not the two would end up in a romantic entanglement. And it wasn't as though he didn't like her. He really liked her, a lot. Luce was the best. In all reality, he more than liked her, but he didn't really know how to express that. All he knew was that Lucy was his favorite person in the whole world, aside from Happy, and he felt things for her he definitelydidn't feel for anyone else. Sure he thought she was pretty. He didn't really think about her looks much beyond that. He was always more concerned with making her laugh and smile, and doing fun stuff with her. He loved how strong and confident she was on the battlefield and off. The way she cared for her spirits and all of her friends at the guild. She was amazing! No doubt about that. But all that other stuff was just too confusing and weird. So long as he could have Lucy close by his side, he didn't really care about anything else. Did he want something more? Maybe.. But it was hard to tell. Maybe one of these days the true nature of his feelings would become clear to him, and then he'd finally understand.

Shrugging to himself as he contemplated this, putting away the last of the groceries and leaving out only what they had planned to use. He realized that it didn't matter right now anyway, and he could always deal with it when the time came.

And then Lucy emerged from the bathroom and entered the kitchen wearing his favorite faded, comfy black t-shirt and suddenly all doubt was erased from his mind. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes frozen on her. She looked back at him, her large doe-like brown eyes searching him, questioningly. The shirt was too big on her, yet hugged her in all the right places, falling just to the top of her thighs. Her long blonde hair was down, combed out with a simple part that made the waves frame her heart shaped face. The dragonslayer was completely dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

She looked so… sexy.

Natsu felt his heartbeat quicken and his body temperature rising the longer he stared at her. Holy crap! What was going on here?! He had seen her in way less a million times over, but yet seeing her like this, dressed down in his old t-shirt, her cheeks pinked and eyes wide… she was incredible! He didn't know what to do or what to say. She was standing there, looking back at him, seemingly equally uncertain as to what to say or do.

"Natsu? Is something wrong?" she asked tentatively, her head tilted to one side.

Ah crap. She was adorable… sexy and adorable… What was happening to him?! He watched her lips as they moved, comprehending the fact that she was asking him a question. But at the same time he couldn't help but notice how soft her lips looked at that moment…

Lucy's perspective

She stared at him as he stared at her, not saying a word, frozen in space. He hadn't moved a muscle since he had laid eyes on her a few moments earlier. The still silence was started to get uncomfortable and awkward.

"Um… Natsu? Hello?"

The dragonslayer shook himself, as if coming out of stupor. He laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head the way he did whenever he was nervous or embarrassed. He fumbled with the box that had been in his hands, and stammered out lines of words that didn't make any sense.

"Oh! Luce… I put the stuff there..and yeah you know, it wasn't gonna.. I really don't uh know what...um… yeah!" he stammered, his cheeks flushed red.

She eyed him curiously, wondering what had him so flustered. Suddenly he couldn't seem to make heads or tails of himself and was turning into a bumbling idiot. Why would he be worked up so suddenly? She had just come out of the bathroom and… then it clicked. Was he… was he reacting to seeing her dressed this way? Could it be that for once, the ever oblivious fire dragonslayer had finally become aware of the female form? More importantly… had he become quite aware of Lucy herself? She smiled to herself a little, hoping she wasn't grasping at straws.

"If you say so," she said, giggling a little. "So I think I'd like to work on warming up, some more. I still feel pretty cold."

She made her way across the living room and settled near the stove, raising her hands to test for heat. Glancing up, she noticed he was still standing in the same spot.

"Thanks for the t-shirt by the way…" she said quietly, wholly uncertain as to how to behave in this situation.

He looked at her again and nodded, swallowing hard, "Uh yeah, no prob Luce! It looks good...really good." Her eyes widened and so did his, as if he suddenly realized what he had just said out loud. The stellar mage giggled again. Gods he's so cute…

"Jeez.. I can't seem to warm up enough," she said, smiling at him.

She shivered again, the cold visbly wracking her body. That was all the cue he needed. Within a split second, he was beside her, gingerly wrapping an arm around her.

"I-I can warm you up, Luce…" he said, looking at her face for a response. "Any better?"

She smiled shyly, her cheeks going pink, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks Natsu...tons better," she said breathily, her heart pounding her her chest. "But maybe...this would be a little better.." She shifted slightly, her body leaning into his as he instinctively pulled her closer. Their eyes were locked in a gaze as they came closer together, the heat of their bodies causing a pulsating frenzy of emotions and nerves rising up in their guts.

What was it this time that was so different than the others? They had laid together in bed, completely entangled, time and time again, but it had never escalated to this level of intensity. Lucy could heart her heard booming in her ears, her body temperature rising as they drew closer together.

His arms encircled her waist, pulling her toward him, their chests flush to one another, and she looked up at him, her chin tilting ever so slightly. His onyx eyes bore into hers, dancing with a thousand questions and uncertainties, but caught up in the thrill of the moment. She looked back at him, trying to answer every one, quell every doubt. They were here in this moment, coming together in the most intimate way they ever had before.

"Natsu…" she breathed his name, her voice shaking with anticipation.

"Luce…" he whispered back, barely able to contain himself.

And that was all they could handle. His mouth crushed hers in a deep, heated kiss, pulling her body to his. She returned the affection, kissing him with equal fervor. Their mouths explored one another, lips caressing, tongues probing. A small moan escaped her lips, vibrating against his. This only further encouraged him, his hands going up the back of the t-shirt, caressing over her bare back. Her hands found their way up his toned, muscular chest, the heat from his body almost blistering against her skin. The kiss seemed to go on forever, yet not long enough. They were left gasping for air, yet still hungry for more. She felt as though she could drown in him, taking her very last breath just to kiss his lips once more, and she could die a happy woman. And there they were, lost in one another as the rain poured down outside, their sounds of pleasure drown out only by the moan of the winds.

When they finally came apart, cheeks flushed and lips bruised, they looked at one another for a long time. Things were different now… they both knew that, but it was a good sort of different. Natsu looked down at her, stroking a thumb over her cheek and grinning at her like an idiot. She wasn't sure what he was smiling at, but she was happy all the same.

"I should've lent you my t-shirt sooner," he said, flashing her his cheekiest smile. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and then laugh, gently prodding his chest.

"Oh yeah, mister?"

"Oh yeah…"

He waggled his eyebrows and winked at her, then leaning in to softly press his lips to hers. She sighed happily, running her hands up his she found herself grinning along with him, unable to suppress the immense feelings of joy.

This definitely wasn't the last time she was borrowing his t-shirt.

Soooo there's another bit of NaLu fluffs! I've had so many ideas for them lately! Too bad I can't get those ideas for my NaLu chapter story… Oh well! Lol Anyway, if you would be so kind, leave me a review to let me know what you thought. I appreciate feedback on my writing. And thank you so much for taking the time to read. It means the world! Until next time!