Sure, he seemed dense at times. Natsu himself knew that much. But he wasn't completely unaware of what he felt for his nakama, the golden haired girl he'd rescued and immediately felt attached to. He wasn't stupid enough to ignore the fact that his heart beat a little faster when he saw that real, genuine smile of hers, or that his cheeks felt abnormally hot sometimes around her, even if he was a fire dragonslayer. And he definitely wasn't oblivious to how he would always, always, do anything to protect her from harm, even if it would hurt him in the process. She meant more to him than his own life did, anyway.
Natsu just felt so damn helpless when he couldn't get to her in time to save her from the pain or from being hurt at all. She was a Fairy Tail mage, just like he was, and liked to say she could take care of herself, but he just couldn't let her be. Sure, he believed she could handle it herself, but he would just rather beat the shit out of whoever tried to hurt her than risk losing her when the enemy turned out to be so much more than he seemed.
Sometimes the pink haired young man thought that she was the dense one. Couldn't she see how much he cared about her?
Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander, sighed as he stared up at the ceiling above him, listening to the soft splashing sounds coming from the bathroom. If one had assumed he was laying on the bed of the girl in question, they would have been absolutely correct. He'd been kind enough to drop his shoes before falling on top of her covers, putting both hands behind his head to stare at nothing and think.
He tried not to think about the fact that Lucy Heartfilia, the guild's carefree and smiling celestial mage and the girl he was practically head over heels for, was one room over and taking a bath.
It wasn't exactly working.
The fire mage groaned, glad that Happy wasn't there to see his dilemma and come out with his annoying, "You liiiiike her," like he'd been doing for a few months now. And it's not like what Happy said wasn't true, because even the sometimes thick-skulled boy knew what he was feeling towards his nakama. He knew that he liked Lucy as much more than just a nakama. But the right way to tell her, to come out with a confession, just completely eluded him. It's not like he wanted to keep it a secret, either, but he just couldn't get it to come out. Sure, he liked her, and sure, they'd been friends since he brought her to Fairy Tail almost two years ago. They talked just fine, but when it got closer to that subject, he just couldn't say it. It had been that way for the last year, maybe even a little bit longer.
"Dammit," Natsu growled to himself, squeezing his eyes closed.
Lucy just took over his mind. She was just like that, you know? Her smile, her laugh, even the twinkling in her chocolate eyes. It just took control of him. He wanted to tell her, to hold her, but what would that do to the bond they'd built up over all their time together? Would she be offended, and all their closeness crumble to nothing? The thought tormented the dragonslayer.
The gentle swishing of the water as Lucy relaxed in her bath was heard, and Natsu sighed, opening his eyes again.
"Luce, open your eyes," he said, eyes trailing toward the closed bathroom door before he realized it and turned them back to the ceiling.
It was then that he thought it might be time to tell her, friendship be damned.
The girl sighed, sinking into her nice, warm, and usually relaxing bath. But her mind, for once in her life, could not be put at ease by the soothing waters swirling around her. It was occupied with thoughts of a certain person who, at this moment, was probably snoring on her bed like he usually did. No matter how many times she told him to leave, not to sneak in, she could usually find him there when she got home. Lucy couldn't deny that she'd grown accustomed to it. She also couldn't deny that, after so long, it just simply felt right. After all this time, if she'd come home more than twice a week without him waiting for her she would've been depressed.
"Really," she sighed, shaking her head a little while hugging her knees.
Her head swam with all the images of her pink haired savior doing just that - saving her. Because he always did. He saved her from the fake Salamander, he caught her when she jumped out of the tower when Phantom Lord was after her, he saved her when they'd caught her again…was there any time she had been in trouble where he hadn't come to her rescue (except the time where he was kind of trapped on a raft when she fought Angel of Oración Seis. But at least he had been right there, right? It's not as if he would have just sat there if he couldn't help himself).
And honestly, his motion sickness was kind of adorable.
Of course, she yelled at him, and made a point to tell him not to get sick on her, or her clothes, or her shoes, but if he ever did she would know it wasn't because he meant to. And she always nagged at him for destroying things on missions because, honestly, they always barely ended up with anything and it was hard for her to pay her rent. But really, if she was telling herself the truth and not being in denial, she didn't mind all that much. Worst case scenario, she'd have to find a different apartment. And hell, she could just tell Natsu she was moving in with him because it wasn't as if he hadn't suggested it before when she was freaking about her rent.
"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy," She mumbled to herself, "why can't he see…?"
The fact of the matter was that Lucy Heartfilia, once an heiress but now a celestial mage in her beloved Fairy Tail, was falling - no, had fallen - for Fairy Tail's number one dragonslayer, Salamander. Or as she preferred to call him, Natsu. Natsu Dragneel.
Lucy even entertained the thought that, if anything ever happened between them and if they ever found Igneel, she wouldn't mind having a dragon as a sort-of father-in-law. Because, really, meeting Igneel had made the guy she liked who he was today, right? And she wouldn't have him any other way than the way he was right now, though perhaps she'd take him as a happier person, because he'd be happier if they did find his foster father. Right?
She sighed again, looking down into the steamy water.
She would be lying if she said she didn't like him, that was certain. And lying to others was almost the same as lying to herself, and she wasn't going to do that. She'd tried, for a while, when she started to get these feelings. Lucy learned that denying your heart was something that, no matter how hard you tried, just wouldn't work. Not that she particularly wanted it to. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she could admit that she liked the fact that she'd fallen for him, and not someone like Hibiki from Blue Pegasus - although Hibiki was cute.
Lucy liked the way he grinned. It was childlike but utterly adorable, his fangs protruding and all his teeth shining, almost a testament to his excitement. She liked how he was so loud, no matter how much she complained. She secretly giggled about his fights with Gray, and how stupid some of them were, even when she outwardly groaned about their bickering. And she liked that, no matter what the cost would be to him, he stood up for the things he cared about. He stood up for Fairy Tail, for the master, for Gray and Erza and definitely Happy.
And he stood up for her.
"Natsu…" she whispered to herself, staring at her guild emblem.
She didn't want to ruin what they had. The easygoing friendship that they'd established as nakama over the few years she'd spent as a teammate to him. She didn't want to hurt that relationship, but it was just unbearable to her. Even if it would ruin them, she had to say something.
Decision made, she stood from her bath and reached for her towel and her clothes.
It was now or never.
Neither one knew what they were getting into, but Natsu knew when the door swung open that he would have to tell her - and now - because it had just occurred to him that some other guy could get to her first, and Lucy had just kind of frozen when she caught sight of his determined face, unable to push aside the question, why hasn't anyone fallen for him before?
"Luce…"
"Natsu!"
They both froze as the other said their name, and waited.
"You first," Lucy said promptly, flushing as she tied back her wet hair. She hadn't taken the time to blow dry it, or even brush through it, because she'd been so set on actually, for the first time, taking a leap and confessing.
"No, you can go," he said, turning away. His cheeks had that abnormally hot feeling in them again because damn, she just looked so good in baggy sweatpants and - if he wasn't mistaken - an old shirt of his that he'd left there at some point. His confession lodged in his throat, and if he could speak he would have been cursing himself for cowardice.
"Are you sure?" she asked, timidly.
He thought the blush on her cheeks just complimented her careless attire. It was cute.
"Yeah," he shrugged.
She had no idea why he, of all people, was blushing, but on him the flush was attractive.
"Well, I've been thinking about this for about a year now," Lucy said, forging bravely on, even though she didn't think she had the courage, "and I thought I'd say something. I know it…I know you probably won't…erm…agree with me, but I have to say it or I'll go crazy…"
The blonde trailed off, looking away, and unsure of how to say it.
"Luce…?" Natsu asked, almost as a prompt.
She jumped a little, and the blush across her cheeks was just so damn cute that he couldn't stop himself.
"I-I like you, Luce!"
"I like you, Natsu!"
They both then froze, and color dusted their cheeks. Natsu slid from Lucy's bed and was to her in a few steps, drawing her into a warm, comfortable hug.
And they were laughing.
How could he have ever thought something would go wrong? Natsu was laughing at himself, and kind of laughing at Lucy for being so nervous and not having noticed that he felt the exact same way before. And she was just relieved that it wasn't awkward, and that stupid idiot - how did he not notice that she liked him, if he'd liked her the whole time? Then again, she could ask the same about herself. But he was there, and that nothing bad would come of this for now, because he was hers, and she was his.
The both of them knew they were fools, a pair of oblivious fools, but they didn't care. They had each other now, and really, hadn't everyone seen that coming from the start?
Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel © to Hiro Mashima.
This is my first NaLu on here, but NOT the first I've ever written. Haha. Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it, at least a little. Hehe (: