"Achoo!"
After the tenth sneeze in five minutes, Lucy was ready to give up this whole winter business. She should really learn to migrate to warmer climates when the snow starts to fall in Fiore. There had to be someplace that didn't have any snow or temperatures below a balmy 80° F. Somewhere she could go until it got warm again here in Magnolia.
With the thought of bright beaches and sunshine, the blond began to look through her closet. More than ninety percent of what she owned didn't fit the season and did little or nothing to keep her warm. At least she got a pair of boots this year. Last year, Lucy was stuck trying to keep warm in strappy heels. They were cute but did nothing for her poor, frozen feet. Still, she couldn't do much for the rest of her body, other than layer what she owned.
"You know, Lucy, you're going to freeze in those clothes."
The sudden intrusion caused Lucy to scream and twirl. Of course, Natsu and Happy stood there and the girl berated herself for not expecting them to come in. A chill followed them in and she spied the window still open behind them.
"Natsu! How many times have I told you not to come in through the window?! And, please, for the love of everything, close the damn window! I'm freezing already!"
"Sorry," he replied cheerfully. "Didn't even think of it."
Rolling her eyes, the celestial mage huffed and turned back to her meager wardrobe. At least this time, unlike others, she was still dressed in her flannel pajamas. Carefully picking through the pile on the floor, she searched for the one long sleeve shirt that she owned and had already worn every day this week. With the temperatures in the low teens and snow piling high, she needed to sacrifice cleanliness for warmth.
"You should get some new clothes, you know."
Natsu rested on the bed as Lucy looked over at him, irritated. "Yes, Natsu, I know, but I don't have any leftover jewels because someone keeps destroying everything on our missions so we don't get all the reward."
"We could always go on more missions?"
"And let you destroy the whole country in a month? I'll freeze, thank you very much."
She turned away from the idiotic dragon slayer. To be honest, she'd rather just slip back into bed with him and his heat and sleep the rest of the day away. In fact, cuddling sounded like the perfect solution to her problems. She could probably convince Natsu to stay still for another couple of hours if she promised to go on another mission with him.
Quietly, she snorted to herself. As if she'd ever be that bold. Sure she may be in love with Natsu, and for far more than his heat, but she certainly didn't want to screw up the easy friendship that they had in all that they had done together. They had an unbreakable bond and she would sooner die alone than give him up for some stupid feelings she couldn't control.
"Aren't you going to be cold in that?" She watched him eye her tights, skirt and long sleeve shirt.
"Yes, Natsu, not everyone can heat themselves to summer temperatures all the time."
She marched off to the bathroom to change.
"And haven't you worn that, like, all week?"
Lucy stopped and turned, surprised. Natsu noticed what she wore? Then, just as suddenly, the blond cringed. If Natsu of all people was noticing that she wore the same thing all week, then surely everyone else noticed as well. She'd have to wear something else and then wash this shirt. With a heavy sigh, she threw down the shirt but held onto the tights and skirt.
"Yeah, I just don't know if I have any other long sleeve shirts."
The pink-haired man on her bed gave her a strange look and she decided to at least change the bottom half of her pajamas. She came out a moment later, still wearing her button up pajama shirt but in the tights and skirt. She sat on the edge of the bed, a good foot from Natsu, to grab her boots.
"Here, I'm pretty warm all the time, so I'll keep you warm."
This was the only warning Lucy received before her partner yanked her waist and pulled her into the bed with him. She freaked out, twisting and turning to get away from his too hot body. Although she would normally dream of something like this happening, in reality she worried that the red on her cheeks, and her accelerated heartbeat gave away her true feelings.
"Natsu! Let me go!" She tried to pull away, only to be encased in two arms like steel.
The man in question pulled her flush against his body. "Come on, Luce, just let me warm you up."
"Natsu! I need to finish getting dressed so we can go to the guild. I can't do that if you're holding me hostage."
"I guess we'll just have to stay here all day then!"
With her face buried in his chest, Lucy missed the way Natsu's face lit up with joy as she stopped struggling. Giving up, the celestial mage snuggled closer to the dragon slayer, feeling warmer than she had all this dreadful, cold month. She wrapped one arm around his back and the other curled between them. Resting her forehead against his chest, she closed her eyes and let herself relax.
An unknown amount of time later, the blond groggily opened her eyes for the second time that day. It was warm, but the wind was still howling outside as well. Confused for a moment, she quickly took in the pink hair next to her, still sleeping. Lucy watched his face, relaxed and lacking the tension that came with his boisterous personality.
She allowed her fingertips to glide over the slopes of his face, hoping to memorize it through touch. In sleep, his handsome face softened and she smiled shyly to herself. He really was amazing and it would take the rest of her life to list all the reasons that made her love him.
As his eyes blinked open, she quickly retracted her wandering fingers, cheeks a blazing red. However, before she could get too far, his hand clutched hers in his much stronger grip. He stared down at her embarrassed look, as her eyes darted around the room to avoid his gaze.
"Hey." He murmured.
"H-Hey."
Suddenly, he dropped her hand and then reached out with his own fingers to trace her face, like she had his. She kept his gaze, fidgeting at the gentleness. The calloused tips were slightly warmer than the rest of him, as if the fire inside was already ready to leave. He carefully outlined her nose, forehead, eyes and then slowly, her lips.
"You know, I really want to kiss you, right now. Can I?"
Internally, Lucy panicked. Since when did Natsu even know about kissing? And why did he want to kiss her? What did he feel about her? Did she actually have a chance to not screw up everything? What would happen after this?
Externally, she nodded shakily.
Leaning forward, he hesitantly placed his lips on her, hand cupping her cheek. Lucy closed her eyes to enjoy her first kiss, the fireworks exploding behind her eyelids and the way her insides twisted up. He pulled back slightly and she tried to catch her breath. Looking up at him, the blond watched him lean in again.
His lips were surer this time, firm against hers. The hand on her face left to rest on her waist and bring her closer. Lucy melted against him, hands flat against his chest for support. If she thought it would be hard to hide her feelings before, it would be nothing after these kisses. For now though, she'd enjoy every second she had with him.
Pulling back, Natsu blinked as if to clear his head. "Are you warm now?"
"What?" Of all the things he could have said, that was the last thing she was expecting.
"Are you warm?"
"Yeah, I'm warm."
She leaned against his chest, breathing in his scent of smoke and forest. Clearly, he was only thinking about making sure she was comfortable. And clearly, she was the only one with any hint of romantic feelings in their relationship. At least she could say she'd gotten to kiss him, even if nothing came out of it.
They sat in silence for a while, just breathing together. Finally, Natsu leaned up on one arm to stare down at her.
"So now what?"
"What do you mean, now what?"
"We kissed. What's next?"
The conversation had taken a bewildering turn yet Lucy could feel herself growing hopeful. "What's next for what?"
He looked frustrated. "Next step to, this. Whatever this is." He used his free hand to gesture between them.
"Like dating?"
"Yes! What's next?"
"Um, well, I guess, we, um." She paused, taking in the way he looked at her. "Natsu, normally people only kiss when they have feelings for each other. They're already in a relationship and this is the next step."
"But I do have feelings for you."
"No, like, romantic feelings. Not friendship, nakama, feelings."
He was giving her a look she didn't understand. It was almost as if he was getting frustrated at her, but she couldn't begin to understand why.
"And if I do have romantic feelings for you, what's next?"
Silence followed as Lucy tried to digest what she just heard. Did Natsu just confess to her?
"But, I mean, I guess I understand if you don't have those feelings for me." She felt more than heard his dejected sigh and he began to pull away from her.
"Wait, yes, I do. Natsu, wait!" She reached a hand out to keep him in place, then froze at her own audacity.
But, it had the intended effect. Natsu's face lit up like a tree at Christmas and he pulled her into a hug. "So, we have romantic feelings for each other. We kissed. What's next?"
"Um, well, I guess we can go on a date." She took a deep breath. This was all happening too fast! Barely an hour ago she had been eager to hide her feelings and now she had her first kiss and they had confessed to each other? The writer in her wanted to draw it out, make it fluffy and romantic but deep down, Lucy wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
"How do we do that?"
"Like, go to dinner together, or something to spend time together."
"But we already do that."
She crinkled her nose. "I guess you're right. Then we can just keep doing what we're doing."
They were silent for a beat and then Natsu grinned down at her. "Can I keep kissing you?"
"Yes, you can keep kissing me," she replied with a blush. "Just, let's keep it secret for now."
"What? Why?"
Seeing Natsu's hurt expression, the blond rushed to explain her feelings. "I just don't want everyone staring! And I know that they're going to make all sorts of comments and I'm just really new at these kinds of things and I don't know how to handle just us dating yet." She was rambling, but the words just kept flowing.
"Luce, its fine. We'll keep it a secret. Besides," he gave a grin that melted Lucy's romantic heart. "I like having you all to myself for now."
She blushed and leaned into him to hide it. His chuckles escaped and his chest expanded along with them. Warm and comfortable, they laid together in silence, content with the company of the other. Suddenly, Natsu sat up, disrupting Lucy's comfortable position.
"What are we going to tell Happy?!"
She just laughed and got up to finish getting dressed. "We'll figure something out. We always do."