SO HEY GUYS! This'll include a few shippings, which are listed below.
-Obvi we've got Nalu, Samurai x Assassin (kya)
-Next is Gale/Gajevy, Thief x Emperor's Concubine
-Last you get Jerza, Lord x Serf
I don't really know why I chose to write this. There's just something about feudal Japan that I love so much. I decided I'd give it a whirl and throw in some of my favorite ships along the way…plus, the idea of a seductive assassin Lucy has been lingering in the back of my mind for like a year now. Anyway, this is my first(ish) attempt at 3rd person as opposed to my usual 1st, so leave me reviews telling me how I did as I'm sort of insecure about it.
Warning: there'll be lemons in this story, but not really graphic ones. I'll try and limit my crazy imagination for younger audiences, but if the idea of sex turns you away from a fic, better turn back now.
I also apologize to anyone who is knowledgeable about feudal Japan, because it's pretty much inevitable that I'll get at least something wrong. Please go easy on me if I write something to be historically inaccurate and accept the feels as my apology. :)
The cool rain fell in fat drops, soaking the warm earth and causing a suffocating, dense mist to permeate even the deepest forests. It made navigating the roads difficult, especially with a restless, exhausted horse. Osamu Hideki's journey had been a long and arduous one, but the profit he would receive from selling his product at the Dragon Festival that very evening would make it well worth it.
Osamu was smiling to himself. The opium smuggling business was profitable beyond measure and he had a particular taste for gold. He leaned back in his seat just as the carriage went over an enormous bump, sending him flying and crashing into the opposing wall.
"You useless pig," he bellowed, holding his newly injured shoulder.
"Apologies, Sir, but I believe we just collided with a person," replied the driver, his voice slightly muffled by the intricately decorated carriage walls.
"I don't give a shit," Osamu growled, "Get this fucking thing moving."
Osamu sat down again, awaiting the lurch of the cabin, but it didn't come. "What in the hell…" he began, but his driver spoke.
With a clear of his throat, he said, "Sir, you'd better see this."
Osamu rubbed the bridge of his nose and grumbled to himself as he kicked the door open, dropping out of the carriage into the muddy road. The rain almost immediately soaked him through. "What?!" Osamu practically screamed.
His driver didn't say anything but instead simply pointed. Osamu's eyes followed his driver's finger until they rested on a crumpled figure beside his carriage. Osamu quickly surmised that this was the person his driver had mentioned earlier and that this person had rolled into the ditch beside the road.
"I told you I don't give a shit about some peasant," Osamu said angrily, "I'm waiting for you to tell me why the fuck I'm standing in the rain and not halfway to the festival by now."
"Look closer, Sir," the driver said. Osamu growled again as he stepped through the mud, careful not to dirty his elegant clothing. He was about to turn around and scream into his servant's ear and give him a beating, maybe take a finger or two—no higher than that as he needed his hands to maneuver the horse—when he finally got close enough to discover the identity of the person in the ditch.
He was speechless. Lying in the ditch was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with shining blond hair and alluring brown eyes, hidden almost completely by her long eyelashes. It was rare to see a foreigner in Japan, not to mention the caliber of this woman's beauty. She lay in the grass, the rain pounding her body and soaking her dress all the way through to her pale skin, revealing her perfect figure to Osamu almost completely.
"I can't move my leg," she squeaked.
Osamu's mouth simply hung open until a few moments later when he found his voice, "What's your name, girl?"
"Lucy," she replied, followed by a whimper audible even above the roaring rain.
"Come then, Lucy," he said, extending his hand, "I'll take you away from here." Osamu's imagination was running wild with all the things he would do to this girl. He was normally very picky about his women, demanding that they were both beautiful and rich. This girl was the exception, though; she was so gorgeous that he didn't care at all if she didn't have a penny to her name. He would make her his woman.
"Th-thank you, your Lordship," she said. She took his hand and he picked her up, carrying her in his arms.
"I'm not Daimyo," he said.
"You're not a Lord? I'm sorry for my mistake," she said as he placed her gently in the carriage, "I simply assumed because of your carriage and your serf…and your magnificent garments."
He sat down next to her and ordered the carriage into motion, then rested his arm around Lucy, leering down at her. Lucy's intentional flattery went straight to Osamu's ego as he was a materialistic man at heart. "Well, even if I'm not a Lord, I am fabulously wealthy. I may as well bathe in gold. Besides, Daimyo is just a title and a long list of responsibilities."
"Of course, Sir," she said, strategically placing her slender fingers over his sausages. Sometimes it pained Lucy to come on to such hideous men, but it was all part of the job and paid well enough that it was worth it. Besides, if she closed her eyes she could imagine a beautiful young man in place of the fatties or the hairy ones, even the ones with faces only their mothers could love. "May I say how lucky I was to have been rescued by such a handsome man?" Lucy added for good measure, despite how her guise for getting into his carriage had been getting run over. Lucy didn't worry, though. Osamu Hideki was hers already, probably from the moment he saw her. The rest would be a breeze.
Osamu's entire face turned red. He clearly wasn't used to getting praised for his appearance…understandably. "Just as I was fortunate to…discover such a sexy little lady," he said, his voice raspy. Lucy fought back a grimace as he leaned forward and she was enveloped in what smelled like a cruel mixture of man-stink, tobacco, rot, and wet dog.
Osamu was breathing heavily now. Lucy had intentionally worn her pale white dress so as to better lure Osamu into her trap, but it seemed her see through clothing was working too well on this man. She mentally scolded herself; she should have seen this man's perversion and complete lack of etiquette and honor coming. He was a criminal, no better than a rich, greedy merchant.
Lucy looked away, trying to figure out what to do. She hadn't planned to carry out her contract until she arrived at the festival, where her second—and more interesting—target awaited her, but it seemed it couldn't be helped. "Lucy," Osamu whispered.
She turned around to look at him, summoning her best doe eyes. "Surely you wouldn't-" but she was cut off.
She fought down a gag as Osamu slammed his lips roughly against hers, his dirty facial hair scratching her skin. He tried to force his tongue into her mouth, but she slammed her jaw shut. That did it.
Lucy pulled a tiny pin from her shoe and, so quickly it was almost impossible to see, jabbed it into Osamu's neck. She shoved him off of her, but it wasn't confusion in Osamu's expression, it was agony. Lucy sighed, moving to sit on the other side of the carriage so as to avoid the wet dog smell. "Disgusting swine," she mumbled, throwing the pin out the window.
She watched calmly as Osamu seized and convulsed, foam leaking from the corner of his mouth. She was glad she'd brought a fast acting poison for this assassination. She shivered and spat out the window to get the taste of Osamu out of her mouth, and when she looked back inside Osamu had stilled. She was used to corpses, so being near one wasn't an issue, but that didn't mean she wanted to spend the rest of the trip with one, especially such a smelly one. It was simply unsanitary.
Still, she would have to tough it out then slip away before the driver noticed his master's death. Lucy sighed, watching the damp world go by. Might as well get a nap in.
The sounds, sights, and smells of the festival filled Natsu with a gentle joy. He sat at one of the wooden tables, gazing out over the parade of people and the colorful crowd. Shouts of delight and excitement rang in his ears from all around him. The brilliant dragon, made up of colorful paper and fantastic ornamental decorations—and, of course, quite a few dedicated men within—traipsed down the center of the busy streets. Natsu's eyes widened in surprise as a column of flame erupted from the dragon's mouth. He shook his head, taking a swig of his sake…that had to be a fire hazard.
But Natsu didn't really care. As long as everyone had fun celebrating together, nothing really mattered. He leaned back in his seat, his stomach full from the feast he'd bought earlier with money from his last job. He stood up, leaving money on the table to pay for his drink, and stepped onto the street. Natsu smiled at the comforting clinking of his swords at his side.
Just as he was about to go on his way, a huge, gruff-looking man slammed into him with enough force to knock him to the ground. Natsu grimaced as the man leaned over him and spat directly into his face. "Ronin," he hissed.
Natsu fought his fury to the best of his ability. "Bastard," he growled quiet enough that the man wouldn't hear. He didn't need to start a messy fight in the middle of the festival. The huge man stalked off when he was satisfied that Natsu had been humiliated enough. A few people around sent pitying looks his way, but Natsu ignored them all. He didn't need pity. He was his own person, and if that meant living as a lordless, clanless Samurai…so be it.
Natsu started to get up when he was met with a new pain, someone kicking his shin it seemed. Before he realized what he was doing, his reflexes forced his arms to shoot out and catch what was falling towards him at full speed. "Watch it," he shouted.
His mind took a moment to catch up to reality. The first thing he saw was a flower…no, it was a hairpin with flowers on it. They were beautiful and a deep red. To anyone else they might just look like pretty flowers, but to Natsu the red reminded him of blood. His life had been full of it, so it was only natural.
The next thing he saw was gold. Long locks of soft, flowing gold hair twisted around his fingertips, curling delicately around his wrist and his calloused palm and draping smoothly over his forearm.
"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice rushed. It was sweet, ringing like a bell. "I saw what happened and I was coming over to help you up, but I tripped over your leg." He looked down at her and met her eyes. "I'm so clums…" but her gentle voice trailed off as she came to meet Natsu's eyes, her mouth slightly open as if her words were hanging on her lips.
And what amazing lips they were, a light pink to match her pale skin, slightly damp as if she'd just run her tongue along them. The beauty of her face instantly struck him, pinning him in place. Her eyes were a delicious brown, reminding him of that western delicacy he'd once had the pleasure of enjoying…chocolate, was it? Her features were delicate, her large eyes, her little teardrop nose, and her soft looking lips all seemed to glow when surrounded by her golden hair.
They lay there together, her on top of him, simply taking each other in for what seemed like minutes to both of them, surrounded by noise but unable to hear it, frozen in time despite the heat that simmered in the air between them. Lucy had identified Natsu by his blades, the fire-spitters as they were called in the hushed whispers of the inn where she always went to gather information.
She knew the man with those iconic double blades was her target, Natsu Dragneel, the famed Ronin and hired blade, but she hadn't expected this…moment. She lay on top of him, staring into his deep green eyes. They told her all about him, that his past was tainted by suffering and pain, but there was a light there that revealed that he still somehow managed to love life, to enjoy it to its fullest.
Lucy had never assassinated anyone who looked like this. His handsome face stole the words from her lips, literally leaving her speechless. She'd seen this happen to her previous targets, but she had never experienced it before. It frustrated her, but somehow it also delighted her.
Lucy slid her hand along Natsu's chest as she began to return to herself. She steeled herself, unwilling to let his sexiness distract her. She was a trained assassin and she needed to keep it together. Despite how she liked the fire in his eyes, his strong jawline and lips that were curving into a subtle smirk, how tight his arms were around her waist, his strong muscles that tensed and shifted beneath her body…she refused to be drawn in. That absurd yet amusing rosy pink hair wasn't going to steal her eyes.
"Clumsy," she finished, blinking so as to clear up the haze.
"That's kind of you…coming to my aid, I mean," he said. His voice was gentler than she expected. He was a trained killer just like she was, and she'd anticipated the usual gruff, smoker's voice. But no…Natsu had been anything but expected so far, so why should his sexy voice be any different?
Lucy smiled at him, batting her eyelashes, "I think it's good to help those in need…not that you couldn't have handled that on your own." She slowly slid off of him, letting her hand barely slide along his thigh as she leaned back. She created distance between them, but left enough contact to keep his attention.
The smirk widened into a full smile, "I think so, too. Anyway, are you hurt? You fell pretty fast." He stood up as he spoke, looking down at her. He reached down to help her up, anticipating that the yukata she was wearing, the deep red that matched her hair piece, would restrict her movement. She took it with a thankful smile and he helped her to her feet.
"I'm alright. You caught me just in time. Impressive reflexes," she said as they began to walk together, Lucy's wooden shoes clacking as they went.
"Yeah, well…practice makes perfect as they say," Natsu said, crossing his arms over his chest and peeking at Lucy again. She really was gorgeous, especially that beautiful hair. He watched as it drifted behind her like a river of shining gold. Lucy laughed softly. "Hm?" Natsu questioned.
"You're staring at me," she said, looking up at him from behind her long lashes.
Natsu cleared his throat, "I've just never seen hair like yours before. You're a foreigner, then?"
She nodded, "I am, but I'm not sure you have a right to say that, considering how your hair is an even stranger color." Lucy spoke as if it was absurd, but she secretly thought of it as charming, a peculiarity of sorts that made him more enthralling to her.
He nodded sheepishly, "They say it's because I'm cursed, you know."
"Cursed?" she asked. He was remarkable inside and out.
Natsu hadn't meant to mention it. People normally feared him when they found out he was the Dragon of the West, the tamer of the fiery blades. He didn't want to scare this girl away. Lucy noticed his hesitation, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Maybe this was the source of his pain?
Natsu nodded gratefully. "My name's Natsu," he said.
She smiled, happy to hear him say it despite already knowing his identity, "I'm Lucy."
"Lucy," he repeated, "Beautiful just like you."
Lucy laughed, "You're a terrible flirt…like a child."
Natsu frowned, "I know."
"It's ok. I find it endearing. Beside, you probably never need to worry about it with that face of yours," she said. He stopped walking immediately, taken aback by her words. He'd never really considered himself all that handsome. Sure, he'd had women. They sometimes appeared in his life, though he never really took interest in them. He indulged in sexual pleasures just like any other man, and he'd never found it difficult to find someone. Was that because of his face?
"What? You didn't know, Natsu?" Lucy asked in a cheerful tone, looking back at him. It was then that Lucy woke up. She was walking with Natsu, chatting with him like she wasn't here to murder him. She bit her lip, looking around for a dark place. She had to get him away from the loud crowd, find a place to administer the poison without anyone seeing.
"No," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. The sleeve of his kimono slid past his forearm and down to bunch at his shoulder, giving Lucy a full view of his bicep. She tried to ignore the stirring she had inside of her, something close to desire caused by the brief glance of his skin, but it was difficult. She'd never found much of anything difficult, so this was a change for her…an annoying one.
"Come on," she said, taking his hand. She pulled him alongside her, "I want to show you something."
Natsu didn't say anything, just walked quickly behind her as she maneuvered through the tight crowd. They walked past various food stands, their alluring smells all calling out to Lucy as they walked. She ignored the tug in her stomach and walked faster. If she dealt with Natsu in a timely manner she could go get food after.
Natsu let his eyelids fall a bit, wondering if it was some sort of miracle that he'd met Lucy. He'd endured so much in his life time, and he figured that maybe Lucy was the universe's way of paying him back. If so, karma had outdone herself again, because Lucy was more than Natsu could ever ask for. Unconsciously, Natsu tightened his grip around Lucy's hand.
Lucy noticed instantly even if Natsu didn't and fought her alarming yet overwhelming urge to squeeze his hand back. She bit her lip again, pulling Natsu around the corner. Finally, they'd arrived, and Lucy let out a tiny sigh of relief.
"Wow," Natsu breathed, stepping forward to stand beside Lucy. He didn't move to take his hand from Lucy's, instead positioning his body so that their shoulders touched.
"Amazing, right?" Lucy said, looking up at Natsu. He looked completely different under the red light of the lanterns. The pathway in front of them was lined with thousands of lanterns, the pride of the Dragon Festival. Little gold dragons struck various poses on the paper lanterns. Natsu's eyes shone like a child's and he grinned widely. Lucy caught a glimpse of his sharp canines and a tiny lump formed in her throat.
"Come on," he said, dragging her behind him this time. She followed obediently, knowing all the while that their little meeting was about to come to an end. There was no one else walking the path of the dragons—they were all watching the parade—and even if there had been it wasn't likely that they'd be able to see the two in the dim, red light of the pathway.
Lucy looked up at Natsu, watching his excited eyes snap from lantern to lantern. The entirety of him was bathed in the gentle red light of the lanterns, flickering in candlelight. It was harder to see the details of his face in the lantern light, but despite the dark she could still tell he was handsome. The heat flooding into her arm from where they held hands was a reminder of the strange feeling she'd had ever since she'd intentionally fallen on top of Natsu. She didn't want to admit it, but she was conflicted.
Without warning, Natsu came to a steady stop. Lucy froze alongside him, wondering what caused this. Natsu looked down at her, stepping closer to her. She was overwhelmed by his smell. In place of the stink and the rot that Osamu had filled her with just that morning was the subtle smell of spices and smoke. Natsu met her eyes and she noticed a sadness there, "Lucy, I'm about to tell you something that I haven't told anyone before. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you." Those words made a knot form in Lucy's chest, squeezing her heart painfully. She didn't show her discomfort on her face, though, and didn't question what made her feel that way.
"I hate the color red," Natsu said.
Lucy blinked, waiting for more…something that actually made sense, but it didn't come, "What?"
"It reminds me of blood," he said, taking her other hand. She forced her face to remain neutral. "It's my dark side and I despise it," he said quietly.
The full meaning of his words slammed into Lucy. Natsu hated how he was a Ronin, that he killed people for money. Lucy had never really thought about it, not like that. It was a job, and most of them deserved it anyway. But…meeting Natsu like this began to change her mind. He was sometimes childlike, but also possessed a mysterious, troubled past that occasionally aged him immensely, not to mention the simmering sexiness that made Lucy's pulse quicken with one look, a woman who was so used to the opposite sex that she could manipulate men at a moment's notice.
Lucy, for a brief moment, didn't want to kill Natsu.
"Don't be scared," Natsu said, a hint of fear in his voice. His hands tightened almost painfully around Lucy's, and she realized this was his call for his help, that he'd unlocked the cage within his heart that he kept his self-hatred hidden away in. She couldn't reject him, not any longer, not when he was clinging to her like this, like she was some sort of savior. She'd always been the villain, the predator, been Poison's Mistress…but savior somehow felt good to her.
"I'm not," she whispered into his ear so that she could close what was left of the distance between them. Natsu's body reacted immediately, a shiver running up his spine at her proximity and forcing his lips to part slightly. Relief flooded through him like a river; she'd accepted him for who he was, and despite how much he despised it…she didn't.
He let his face fall into her shoulder, "I've just met you, yet I've already decided you're too perfect to be real."
She laughed a little, causing his head to bounce with her shoulder, "No one is perfect, Natsu."
He lifted his head, their faces only inches apart now. Slowly, without a word, his hands slid along the silk fabric of her kimono, finding their way up her arms and then around her waste, pulling her against him. "Maybe," he mumbled, but he hadn't given a moment's thought to his words. He was too focused on the feeling of her against him, the smell of lavender as he inhaled deeply, and how Lucy's eyes narrowed to sexy slits, calling to him, daring him.
"Maybe," she muttered back, tilting her head up to look at him. She didn't care about her contract any longer. She could indulge herself; this simply felt too heavenly to end it. At the moment, Natsu's body seemed too perfect to poison, like it would be ruining a work of art.
"I just met you, I shouldn't-" Natsu said, beginning to pull away from her. His sudden change of pace left Lucy frustrated. She grabbed his arm with one hand and placed her fingers over his lips, touching them softly.
"No one is perfect, Natsu," she said, pulling him back to her. She was used to men who forced themselves on her, but the one time when—as she was beginning to realize— she actually wanted him, her target was too honorable to take her. It caused a surge of delight and anger to well up inside of her. Her desire, though, controlled her the most. "And I'm not innocent," she said. When she said those words, she meant it as a confession that she knew of the ways of men, but it almost sounded as if she were trying to tell him her secrets, that she was actually a murderess, had blood on her hands just as he did.
If Natsu noticed, he was too caught up in the moment to unravel the second meaning behind Lucy's declaration. Lucy let her kimono slide open a bit and looked up at him, this time sure that he wouldn't resist her. "Natsu," she said, his name escaping her lips as if it were an order, a demand to close the distance that was so agonizing to him. He gave in instantly, pushing her against the wall behind them and wrapping his arms tightly around her.
Her lips were even softer than they looked, and as he slid his tongue along them he realized that they tasted sweet, like a little bit of that honey of a voice she possessed had caught there and lingered. Her body seemed so delicate beneath his rough, war-torn hands, and he was hesitant to fully give in to the burning want inside of him. He slid his hands along the length of her as if he were measuring her, taking her in and memorizing her.
Lucy slipped her hand inside of his kimono, feeling the solid muscle hidden beneath. He was strong from years of fighting, training and working, and knowing that somehow made him more appealing to her. He was strong because he fought. Natsu was a mystery to her, a hired blade who hated killing…it made her smile against his lips.
She hadn't expected it, but the moment he'd kissed her she'd been drawn in. Some tiny part of her was panicking as Natsu kissed her, slid his hand along her side and cupped her breast, because she doubted more with every passing second that she would be able to stop it. This was unprofessional and stupid. She had to kill this man. What was she even doing?
But Natsu's kisses moved to her neck, to the soft spot beneath her jawline. The moment his lips touched it, her weakness, her breathing heightened and her heart went crazy. She gasped, clinging to his kimono to keep herself grounded. Her legs went a little weak.
Natsu noticed immediately how much pleasure that spot gave her and he smirked, tightening his grasp around Lucy's waist in case her legs gave out and running his tongue along her neck, landing on that same sweet spot and sucking lightly. Lucy let out a long, sexy moan, and something lurched in Natsu. Lucy weaved her slightly shaking fingers into his pink hair and tilted Natsu head up, wanting to taste him again.
It was so different from what she was used to. His kiss set the world on fire, but even as it blazed around them the two couldn't look away from each other.
And Lucy craved more, needed more. She needed the memory, the night with him, to give in to the feelings that were barraging her.
"Natsu," she murmured as he slid his leg between hers. He pulled away and looked at her, breathing hard and flushed. Lucy told him what she wanted with her eyes, her throat too closed up with lust to get the words out.
But Natsu didn't need words. He nodded and then took her hand, practically running through the pathway of lanterns, steps ringing with urgency.
Natsu still seemed hesitant. Lucy noticed immediately how he treated her, like she would break without a moment's notice. He leaned over her, carefully removing her flower hair ornament. "Careful," Lucy said quietly.
He froze for a moment, looking down at her, and then nodded. Lucy didn't really care about it. It was something worthless that she'd bought at one of the shops along with her yukata—practically out of desperation as she had still been wearing her white dress—but hidden inside was the needle destined for Natsu, what would end his life if he barely scratched his finger against it.
Lucy sat next to him, watching his quick, deliberate movements. Natsu knew what he was doing, the fire in his eyes lighting up as he slowly slid her silk kimono off of her shoulders, kissing each one as he slid it down further. He looked up at her as he kissed each of her breasts. She shivered and touched the side of his face as he rose to meet her, touching his lips gently to hers. She was like a flower to him, a brilliant golden flower, glowing on the side of the road, surrounded by dull weeds. He would pick it, but he would treat it with care, value it because it was different, special, rare.
But Lucy wasn't a flower, she was the serpent beneath it, poison in her veins and desire in her heart. She rose up and quickly, expertly, exposed his chest beneath his kimono, slipping it away and immediately forgetting about it. She touched each of the scars she'd uncovered, badges of honor that showed he was a fighter. It spurred her on, and she pushed him down, positioning herself above him.
Her long hair fell over his chest, caressing his muscles. To Natsu it looked almost white in the moonlight that fell around them. He reached up and took a handful of it, clenching it tightly and pulling her down to him. If she wanted it like this, he would give it to her. He'd always treated women gently, but Lucy seemed stronger, like she could handle all of him.
He held her tightly and rolled her over so he was on top again, then smirked down at her. A resistance, frustration, sparked in Lucy's eyes, but Natsu snuffed it out immediately when he kissed her soft spot. She shivered beneath him and squeezed her legs together. "You vulnerable there, Lucy," he whispered into her ear.
She turned her head and gently bit his ear. He smiled and looked down at her, taking in the full sexy, beauty of her exposed body. Her skin was so pale, her eyes dark and shining, her hand sliding across her stomach towards the throbbing between her legs. Natsu shook his head and grabbed her hand, pulling it up to rest on his neck. She held on tight and looked him in the eyes, inviting him.
It was clear in that moment to Lucy, as she begged for him with her eyes, that he was the one who had the power over her. In her right mind she would've hated that realization, but she didn't despise it so much with passion blinding her. Her senses were attuned to Natsu, following his lead and anticipating him, every inch of him.
She pulled him down against her. "Come on," she moaned quietly against his neck. Natsu gave in to his animal instinct.
Lucy was his, and he wanted her to know it. She cried out as he finally gave her what she wanted, sensation erupting within both of them. Natsu muscles rippled, shivered, worked together to let him greedily take more and more of Lucy, to fill her up and cause her to cling tighter and tighter to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Their sweat mixed together just as their moans and gasps mingled in the air around them.
They rose up against each other, rough and hungry. Their tongues, their hands, their bodies fighting against each other, the throws of passion becoming almost like a battle between them. The intense fire and war raging around them, inside them, changed their worlds, their feelings.
When their war finally ended, Lucy threw her head back, every one of their muscles tensing together in one act of finality. Natsu leaned down heavily against Lucy, his face hidden in her hair. She ran her fingers through his pink locks, loving the soft feeling it brought her. She was calm, her mind clearer than it had been in a long time.
She closed her eyes, letting him pull her close to him and tuck his face away in her chest. His arms wrapped tightly around her like he wasn't ready to let go of her yet, and she watched him close his eyes, still breathing heavily. Her own chest heaved steadily, and Natsu gently bit her there. She smiled and shut her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of those canines she'd seen earlier.
And so they lay together in silence, because words would just get in the way.
Hopefully not too graphic for the younguns, but I did warn you. Anyway, leave me a review if you want to see it continued, because I'm still uncertain. Thanks, guys. Love you all.