Lucy could feel his eyes on her. Where they landed, her skin prickled with awareness.
She tucked her pen between the pages of her journal before looking over at him.
Natsu was laying on her couch, one arm propped behind his head. The other dangled over the edge, his fingers skimming the floor in a purposeful way. Her stomach twisted as she watched them.
She raised her eyes to his, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip. His mouth stretched from a considering pout into a devious smirk. A hot flush began to creep on her skin at the sudden intensity in his gaze as it roamed over her body.
She squirmed.
"Natsu…" she whined. She knew what was coming; what he desired was evident.
"Lucy," was his response, his voice low and husky.
Slowly, he rose from the couch. His eyes never left hers, and with every approaching step, her heart rate rose.
By the time he stood before her, her body was hot and trembling in anticipation.
"I'm not done writing yet, Natsu," she breathed, her eyes wide and soft as they gazed up at him.
"You can take a break," he murmured, leaning forward to brace his hands against her chair's armrests.
Natsu grinned down at her. He raised one hand to cup her cheek, his thumb skimming along from the dip behind her ear to her chin. It inched up to her bottom lip and tugged until it was free of her teeth, and a sigh escaped her.
"Lucy," he whispered, his face drifting closer to hers. His hands wandered away from their positions, seeking out their favorite place to be: on her waist. He was close enough now to feel her breath on his mouth. He felt it tremble when his hands dipped beneath her shirt to touch her skin. It pitched when his thumbs stroked gentle circles into her naked waist.
When their lips touched, as soft as the pressure of a feather, he tickled her.
Lucy squealed in laughter, her body writhing and jerking in its attempt to escape the hilarious torment of his fingers. Her head fell back, and he watched her laugh with a wicked smirk on his face.
"Natsu!" she gasped between laughs, her face a bright shade of pink. "Natsu! Please!"
"Never!" he cackled, tickling her more furiously.
His grin widened in triumph when her laughter increased. Until she jerked up without warning and their foreheads cracked against each other.
"OW!" they shouted in unison.
Lucy folded into herself, still breathless and trembling from the tickle attack.
Natsu was on the floor, clutching at his head.
A bubble of laughter rose in her throat at the sight of him rolling around on the ground.
"N-Natsu," she said, her voice shaking with barely-restrained amusement. "Natsu, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" she bit down on a giggle when he jerked over to face her.
His dark eyes swiveled up to her face and narrowed. A snort escaped her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
Natsu jumped to his feet with an evil grin, shouted, "REVENGE!" and jumped at her.
"NO!" Lucy squealed, stumbling out of her chair and running as Natsu chased after her and her laughter. He was hot on her heels when she dashed into her bedroom, and just as she reached her mattress, he tackled her.
His fingers tickled her mercilessly, and he laughed along with her.
"Wait!" Lucy gasped. "I can't breathe!"
Natsu propped himself on his forearms as she attempted to catch her breath. They stayed like that, panting and grinning goofily at each other with matching welts on their foreheads.
A minute passed, and Lucy's grin softened. With a twinkle in her eyes, she cupped Natsu's face between her hands. "Revenge," she murmured before she tugged him down into her kiss.