Lucy was sure something was wrong. Here Natsu was, making an absolute mess in her new (expensive) living room, and she wasn't yelling at him to leave. Natsu sat cross-legged at the foot of her couch eating – no devouring a bowl of pork ramen and letting nearly every inch of it miss his mouth and stain the carpet. Yet, she simply stayed quiet, nearly unbothered. If anything, she was savoring each moment because she knew all too well what it felt like when he wasn't there. He could chew up all her furniture if he wanted and she'd still probably allow that. Probably.
Lucy giggled as Natsu continued to slurp his ramen, spilling almost as much as he was able to fit in his mouth. Natsu looked up at her and flashed his wide, toothy grin before proceeding to stare back down into his seemingly never-ending bowl of ramen.
"Y'want sum Luce?" Natsu muffled as he chewed on a slice of pork.
Normally Lucy would turn him down and let him enjoy his meal all himself; she knew just how possessive he was of his food. Yet, she was so caught up in this moment, so wrapped in this feeling of admiration and love that before she could stop herself, she said "sure".
She wasn't sure when she had come to care so strongly for Natsu. It could've easily been the first day he brought her to Fairy Tail. But watching him sitting on her floor after a year of him being gone, she knew she loved him.
Still watching Natsu, she walked over and sat next to him on the carpet.
Move closer, Lucy. He's finally back. Lucy's thoughts were running a mile a minute, all screaming at how excited she was to have him back in her life. Her heart and mind were aligned on one mission and that was to finally tell Natsu how much she cared about him.
As Lucy got comfortable in her spot, Natsu shifted closer so that their arms brushed against each other.
"Open wide!", Natsu guided his chopsticks towards the girl's open mouth. Once the noodles hit her mouth, Lucy instantly began to blow outwards.
"This-is-still-hot!" Lucy fanned her mouth in a desperate effort to cool the boiling ramen.
Natsu nearly doubled over laughing. "Sorry, Lucy! I couldn't really tell it was that hot!"
Lucy finally managed to swallow and looked at Natsu with tears in her eyes.
"Woo. Wow. Very hot. You could've warned! How cruel." Lucy mocked a pouty face.
"Here, let me blow it for you", Natsu said as he readied another heaping serving onto his chopsticks.
Natsu leaned forward as he gently blew on the steaming noodles. She felt his breath against her face and knew she was beet-red at this point. She'll blame it on the steam for now.
Lucy leaned forward to meet him where he held the noodles and opened her mouth wide.
"Ahh", she said as cutely as possible. Really Lucy? "Ahh?" Everything about the way she was behaving was so unlike her. But if this was how she got closer to Natsu then she was ready to say "Ahh" as loud as possible.
As she felt the ramen enter her mouth, she slowly opened her eyes to see Natsu staring intently at her. Their faces were still just a breath apart.
"Better?", Natsu said with his voice barely just above a whisper.
Lucy drank this image in. She felt her heart accelerate and every muscle in her body tighten.
"Oh yea-uh YEP THANKS IT'S A LOT BETTER", Lucy said as she yanked herself backward away from the boy who was suddenly so alluring.
She viciously chewed the remaining noodles in her mouth and looked everywhere but in Natsu's direction. Lucy sat completely straight which should have indicated how nervous she was; she almost always sat like a gargoyle.
"Haha! You really are the biggest weirdo I know Luce. Oh wait, you've got some broth on your cheek", Natsu said as he licked his thumb and raised his hand to wipe it off.
Isweartothehighestwizardsaintspleasedontgetclos- Lucy's thought process was interrupted when she felt his warm thumb gently slide across her cheek to remove the leftover food.
His thumb continued absently stroking her cheek even though Lucy was almost sure the broth was gone by now.
He's practically setting the mood for you right now Lucy. If you want something to happen between both of you, it's time to do it now.
As if in slow motion, Lucy brought her hand to gently hold the hand that was caressing her face. She has almost zero to no experience with making a move, so she figured she would just do what felt right. This is Natsu, she thought to herself, I always feel right when he's around.
Natsu's eyes showed a slight impression of confusion, but he stayed perfectly still. Still holding his hand, she brought it to her lips where she planted a soft kiss.
A HAND KISS LUCY? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BACK OUT OF THIS LUCY? HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?
The second her lips pulled away, she immediately felt her face flame and drew her eyes away from his direction.
Well, if I'm on a sinking ship, might as well drown quickly, Lucy thought to herself. Apart from all of her fears of losing Natsu suddenly surfacing and screaming at her to abort the mission, she had resolved to tell him exactly how she felt right at this moment.
"Natsu…Having you gone for a year…was really hard for me. And I know that it was something you felt that you had to do and I'm totally not attacking you for doing something you felt was right for your needs or anything like that I'm just-", Lucy was cut off when Natsu gently gripped her hand a little tighter.
"Right, breathing is important…sorry. What I'm trying to say is that I missed you. A lot. And it's normal to miss friend when they're gone but- this felt worse. And I couldn't understand why not having barge into my house every day ate away at me until today. It took watching you eat ramen and make a mess in my living room to know that, there's no one I'd rather be in this moment with. And that I care about you…as more than a friend. I know that this is weird and we're partners and there's nothing I would do to jeopardize our friendship but…I had to say it. I know that you don't feel the same way and that is honestly so okay. I just hope that we can still keep things the same".
Maybe it was having that slight nudge of reassurance from Natsu or finally having aired out her feelings, but Lucy finally felt her breathing slow down and her head clear. She hadn't been making eye contact with Natsu the whole time, but she figured she'd have to see his facial expression eventually.