Author's Note: yeah believe it or not i was still working on this :'))) ok i started thinking of an idea for this prompt immediately and by the time i realized you were supposed to pick one or the other i was too attached so! you get both, in the form of angels and devils :) also ik this is a nalu week pic but the gajevy is necessary to plot. anyways, please leave a review, and enjoy!
"Well, would you look at that."
He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms, and amused smile curling his lips. Sharp white teeth glint in the streetlights, and there's something unreadable in his eyes.
She purses her lips, her gold eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't look at me like that."
"Alright, alright," he concedes, but the laughter in his eyes only grows. "Just didn't think I'd be seeing you back here so soon."
One of her eyes twitch, just the tiniest bit, but he sees it and smirks. "I don't want to be back here, but I-" she stops and closes her eyes, her expression pained. "I-... I nee-..."
He snorts. "Why don't we talk inside?"
She opens her eyes and squints at him suspiciously. He's being pretty nice, for a devil.
"Fine." He straightens and steps aside, and she walks past him stiffly. His home is hot and humid, and she already feels the heat weighing down on her, dampening her aura. She wrinkles her nose at the sensation, but continues on into his living room.
As she seats herself on one of his seriously unstylish red leather sofas, he veers into the kitchen. "Want coffee?"
"No thanks." Who knows what kind concoction he'd try to poison her with.
As if he can read her thoughts, he rolls his eyes at her. "Relax, Luce," he says, pouring two mugs of the drink anyway, "I ain't trying to kill you. Really."
He walks back into the living room and hands one of the mugs to her, seating himself on the sofa across the table from her. She waits until he takes a sip before cautiously trying the drink herself, and finds herself surprised to taste a rather well made blend of black coffee. He smirks at her expression, and leans back. "So," he begins. "What brings the pretty little angel to a devil's home?"
She knows he knows that she knows that he knows exactly why she's here, but the bastard wants to make her say it. She glowers at him over the rim of her mug as she takes another grudging sip, but he only blinks innocently back at her, brows raised in waiting. There's nothing innocent about the glitter in his eyes, though, nor the fanged smirk that threatens to overtake his lips.
He waits patiently as she works her jaw. "I need your help," she murmurs into her cup.
He leans forward and tilts his head. "What was that?" He asks.
She scowls. "I need you help," she growls.
"Sorry, didn't catch that."
"I said I need your help!" She spits, glaring at him furiously.
"Could you repe-"
"Natsu!"
He smirks at her, leaning back. "Oh? But I thought you 'had it handled.'"
Her eye twitches, and Lucy contemplates throwing her coffee in his smug face. So what if she'd declared that she didn't need his help? Even she can't do everything. "Listen," she growls, "if you're gonna just rub it in my face I'll find someone el-"
"No, no, I'll help. Just after I bask in the glory of the perfect, independant, high-status angel Lucy Heartfilia asking me, a devil, to help her out." He smiles at her maliciously.
"One of these days, I'm going to fucking strangle y-"
"Hey, hey, hey, language, please," he reprimands, but she sees the amusement in his eyes. "Since when are angels allowed to cuss? I thought you were too pure for that."
She feels her aura flaring around her as her temper rises. "I might be sinless, but don't push your luck. Even angels can go bad."
Natsu rolls his eyes. "This is the treatment I get from the person who needs my cooperation. I thought you were supposed to be smart, Luce."
She bites back a retort, and settles for silently fuming as she angrily drinks her coffee. God, she hates it. It's supposed to taste bad, but here it is deciding to be delicious. Since when were brewed drinks so rude?
"Listen, angel," he starts, resting his arm on the back of the sofa. "I'll help. But you gotta let me actually do my thing, or else things will get messy."
She looks at his suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
He shrugs. "Humans are weird. If you mess up one little thing, everything spirals out of control. If we make one mistake, this whole project will end in them becoming pathetically emotional messes for the next eight months."
Lucy purses her lips. "How do I know you won't mess up?"
Natsu smirks. "I've been doing this for years. I don't make mistakes."
"I still don't get it. How are you going to do what I can't?"
"Using ways you angels are too pure to even think of."
Ten minutes later, Lucy leans back, a little flustered, but thoughtful. Natsu watches her as she thinks over what he's said, completely at ease, despite the filth and sin that just left his wicked tongue. "So... you really think that'll work?" She asks.
He grins at her. "I know it will. Fool proof method I've used a million times."
She pinkens further. "But... but what if it won't? Not all humans are the same."
Natsu tilts his head. "Maybe not in the small details, but over all, they're indiscernible. They were made from the same mold, after all."
"But Levy's so sweet. How could she possibly do what you say she will?"
"Is she though?" He asks her, smirking. "You only ever see the good in people, Luce. Look on the other side of the human mind, and get traumatized."
She crinkles her nose. "I don't really want to."
"You're gonna have to, though."
Her eyes fly up to meet his. "What? Why?"
He tilts his head at her. "This is your assignment, right? That means you need to do it yourself."
Lucy stares at him for a moment, then pulls a face and sighs. "Fine," she concedes. "But... I still don't really think this is going to work."
Natsu watches her with those sharp green eyes of his, for a moment, then another, then another until she starts to feel a flush creep up her neck. "What are you-" She breaks off with a gasp when he's suddenly in front of her, on her, his knees at her hips and his hands by her head. She clutches her mug to her chest, her eyes blown wide as she looks up at him. He watches her thoughtfully for a second, then a soft smirk reveals his teeth. Her pulse jumps as he lifts a hand to her cheek, his fingers sliding down to settle at her throat, and he watches as his thumb brushes her neck gently. He smiles.
She takes a shaky breath. "What are... what are you doing?" Her voice is a whisper.
He hums, the sound deep and soft. "Showing you," he tells her simply.
"What do you m-" then his lips are on hers, and she can do nothing but stare as he moves his mouth against hers, slowly, practiced. She stays stock still as he moves, not breathing, slipping his lips down to her jaw, her throat, leaving a trail of hot kisses in his wake. He reaches her pulse and his mouth opens, his tongue sliding hot and wet over her heartbeat.
He pulls back then, his hands coming up to cup her jaw as he rests his for head on hers. She watches, wide eyed, as his eyes slowly open, finding hers. He grins. "Understand now?" His voice is deep, husky.
She releases her breath in one long, shaky exhale. His smile widens into something amused as it touches his face, something wicked.
Then she gets mad.
"Natsu Dragneel," she hisses, and shoves his chest with her free hand. "How dare you-"
He laughs and catches her hand, and presses it against his chest. He kisses her again, leaning down into her, pressing her back into the couch. She glares at him, and after a moment, his eyes open into slits. He grins at the fury in her eyes, and moves lower. He tilts her chin with one hand and takes the mug from her with the other, placing it on the table behind him as he presses his lips to the spot behind her jaw. Her other hand flattens itself against his chest, and she feels the power rolling off him in waves of heat. The next thing she knows her eyes are closed and he's at her lips again, moving against her hungrily, and she's moving too, tugging his closer, relishing in the heat, and-
He's gone.
Her eyes open, dazed, confused, her chest rising with each fast breath, her hands still in front of her, her fingers open where his shirt had pulled free. She blinks, again and again, and sees his back as he walks into the kitchen. "Wh... what?" She breaths, bewildered.
He raises his hand, and she sees her mug. "It was getting cold."
She stares at him, utterly lost. He pops her mug into the microwave and waits, arms crossed and leaning against the counter, as it slowly turns inside. He catches her eye and smiles, but then the beeping turns him away from her, and she's left with his back, again.
She stares as he comes back into the living room, reheated coffee in hand. He hands it to her, and when she doesn't grasp it immediately, he wraps her hands around it for her, then settles back onto his sofa.
He takes a sip of his own coffee, apparently still hot, and looks at her. "Does it make sense now?" He asks, nonchalantly.
She hugs her mug to her chest and says nothing. He sighs. "Are you even understanding what I'm saying?" He clicks his tongue. "I know y'all are supposed to be perfectly clean, but you act like you've never been kissed before."
That earns a reaction from her. "Yes I have!" She protests, offended. "Just... not like that."
He smirks. She's learning to hate that cocksure little smirk of his, and all the bad things it's been leading to. "Alright, angel, whatever you say. But that was a real one."
She doesn't want to compare, but her brain does it anyways, and she can't help but agree with him. Kissed she may be, but utterly infired she's never. She glares at him. "What was that for, anyways?"
He shrugs and leans back into the couch, propping a hand behind his head. "You didn't believe me, so I proved it to you." He grins at her wickly. "Guess you angels aren't much better than humans after all."
Her aura builds up all around her, but the increased intensity doesn't seem to faze him at all. He just takes a sip of his drink, and smiles at her sweetly. She snarls at him, and stands up in one sweeping motion. "I'm leaving."
She storms out of the living room towards the door, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. "You forgot to leave the mug!" He calls after her.
"I'm keeping it!" She retorts, and takes an angry slurp as she slams the door behind her. The least he could do was let her finish her drink.
Lucy fumes the entire way back to her apartment, her aura sparking and roiling around her. She unlocks her door and storms inside, immediately settling at her desk. A flick of her wrist as her screen appearing before her, the surface clear and glimmering faintly of the magic it was created from. She taps a window on the screen to bring it to the forefront, and sees a view from inside Gajeel's apartment. She clicks her tongue at the state of the place, his living room strewn with random clothes, weights, and tools, but quickly focuses on her target of interest. He's sleeping on the couch, half falling off, his hair a mess and his phone in hand. Useless, then.
She clicks into another screen, and sees the neat and tidy kitchen of Miss Levy McGarden. She's working on some university stuff, it looks like, her hair tied back in a bandana and her red glasses sliding down her nose. Lucy almost feels bad for having to interrupt her, but she's got to pass university too, and it means making this match happen. She purses her lips as she thinks about what to do, then finds her earbuds on her desk and plugs them into the side of her screen. "Alrighty, then," she says to herself as her sticks them in her ears. She holds the built-in microphone to her lips and waits to see the little symbol on the screen that lets her know she's connected before she talks. "You've been working hard, Lev. You must be tired; after all-" she squints at the books the girl has strewn in front of her; "Seriously, Levy, only you would pick neurology as a bonus course, I swear," she mutters under her breath, then continues, louder. "-neurology if a hefty course. Don't you think you should take a break?" She watches as the girl sits back, and stretches. Good. "Why don't you go on your phone for a bit?" Levy picks up her phone from where it was lying on the counter, and unlocks it. Despite the fact that Lucy is and has literally been spying on her for a month now, she still looks away as she types her password.
The phone opens to a text conversation with Gajeel. Lucy lights up. "Alright, this is good, this is good." She pauses, then lifts the microphone back to her lips. "Hey, it's Gajeel. It's been a couple hours since you guys talked. Why don't you give him a call, see what he's up to? You should ask if he finished working on that car yet."
Levy looks at her screen, rereading their last messages. She shrugs. "I'll just call him for a bit," she says to herself, and dials. Lucy clicks onto Gajeel's screen, just as his phone goes off. It takes a while for him to answer, though, and she starts to worry he'll sleep right through it.
"Wake up, dummy!" She whisper-shouts, and he does, albeit groggily. He snaps awake when he reads the name, and immediately answers, sitting up.
"Hey, Lev. What's up?" He asks, blinking to adjust to the late afternoon light and squinting at his clock, trying to find out what time it is. Lucy rolls his eyes. He's probably been asleep for hours, knowing him.
She listens closely for Levy's reply, turning up the volume on her earbuds. "Not much, just studying. I wanted a break so I called."
Gajeel grins to himself, and leans back into the couch. "Oh yeah? Whatchu studying to hard about?"
She can hear Levy's sigh through the phone. "Just something for neurology class. Porlysuica's got us working on the left frontal lobe, so I've been looking into the growth and development of the visuospatial skills from ages nine to twenty-six. Did you know that even though the frontal lobe is just one part of the brain, the left side deals in stuff totally different from the right? Language skills are from the left, so if you get a head injury there when you're young you can-"
"Alright, forget I asked. Shoulda known you were just gonna spout smarty stuff at me," Gajeel says, cutting her off. "If you want a break from the science stuff, why'd you call just to talk about it? Weirdo."
Levy laughs, embarrassed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I got the brain, on the brain!" She pauses, and Lucy snorts at the joke. "Get it? See what I did there, the brain on the br-"
"I got it, Shrimp. You ain't funny."
Lucy can only imagine her pout right then. "Listen," Gajeel says, "if you want a break, let's go do something."
Lucy starts, remembering why she got on in the first place. "Okay, nice," she says to herself. She holds down the microphone button. "Remember that tavern you saw riding past last week? She'll probably want to go to a lively place to get some stress off her shoulders."
Gajeel lights up. "Hey, there was this cool place a saw last week; want to check it out? My treat."
Lucy clicks back to see Levy glance at her work hesitantly, biting her lip. "Go out for a bit, you need to relax. Besides, neurology is just a bonus course, after all. Remember what your mom said- don't overwork yourself," she tells the girl, and sees the resolution in her expression.
"Alright, yeah. Where is it?" She asks, spinning one of her other stools with her foot.
"I'll come get ya, don't worry. Truth be told, I don't remember the address, so we'll have to just backtrack."
Levy smiles. "Alright, I'll get dressed. Call me when you're here." She ends the call, and hops off her stool, stretching. "Okay, Lev," she says. "Now what to wear, hmm?"
Lucy clicks back onto Gajeel's screen; she trusts Levy to dress herself- it's him she worries about. Gajeel stands and cracks everything there is to crack, and Lucy winces all the while. No matter how many times he's done it, it still makes her squirm. He heads to his room and the visual follows, leading right into the utter mess of his room. Still, she can't worry about that now, though she makes a mental note the remind him to clean it later. He goes to pick a shirt off the floor, and Lucy's eyes widen in horror. "Don't you dare!" She hisses at him. "You're going out with Levy, not one of the guys! Smell nice, for God's sake! For my sake, actually!" She watches in relief as he pauses and contemplates the very bad decision he was about to make, and walks to his closet instead. She tries not to pick to outfit for him, since she doesn't want things to seem different once she's gone and he's got to make his own fashion choices, but she whispers suggestions as to what not to wear. In the end, he's picked out something fairly decent. And fairly tight. If Natsu's plan is going to work, a little bit of extra-ness is needed. She sits back and takes a sip of her coffee, weirdly proud of him.
"Wait." She taps on the screen and initiates the smell feature, and winces. "Maybe a shower might be in need." He stops and sniffs himself, then takes a horrifyingly long time to decide that he might need a little wash up. He walks into the bathroom, and she clicks out.
She drinks her coffee as she watches Levy pick out a cute yellow dress, then realizes that that's probably not the look she needs to be going for tonight. "Wait, wait, wait. A sundress? It's adorable, of course, but how about something a little more... fitted?"
Levy holds up the dress, pursing her lips as she thinks it over. Then a little smile steals across her face and she hides it in the dress. Lucy gives her a sly look. Dirty thought alert. Levy pops out quickly, and huffs. "Okay, not this." She walks back to her closet. "How about... this?" She pulls out a shiny, dark red pencil skirt, and Lucy immediately agrees.
"Nice, Lev," she whispers in her mug, her eyes fixed on the screen. She crosses her legs as Levy ruffles around for a top, not interfering in the least.
"Aha!" It's white, with large, tri layer ruffled sleeves, and a silver clasp right above a deep v-neck, made of rayon by the look of it. "Perfect." Perfect indeed.
She sets it out of her bed, and starts on her hair.
Thirty minutes later Levy's phone buzzes, just as she finishes putting on her lipstick. Dark red, a classic, and a match. "Hey, Gajeel!" She answers, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she straps on her heels. "Yeah, just finished up. Perfect timing. Okay, I'll be right out."
"Don't forget your purse," Lucy reminds her.
"Oh yeah," Levy says. "Purse." She grabs it, and shuts the door behind her.
Lucy watches as they make their way into the tavern, Gajeel's hand on her back as he leads her in. She makes that oooooh-I-saw-that kind of face, and sips her coffee.
They get seated at a table out of the way of prying eyes, and Lucy can't hope for better. The less eyes, the less shame. They order, wait, and talk, and Lucy starts working, subtly. "Alright, Gajeel," she says. "Doesn't Levy look pretty tonight? She's done something a little different tonight- curled it, have you noticed? Soft big curls; they saw that straight guys are supposed to love round things. Are they right? Don't the curls really make her eyes stand out more? Big brown eyes, a classic beauty." She observes him closely, picking up on every movement of his eyes. He's listening to her, paying more attention to her hair, her eyes, and then he's discovered that the red's doing wonderful things to her lips, and then she sees his eyes going lower, and silently squeals. "Yes, yes! Oh my God, yes, it's working!" She quickly clicks onto Levy's frame. "Nice break, huh Lev? Nice view, too. His hair's wet and brushed back, makes his widow's peak stand out more. The shirt's one you haven't seen yet, and... it looks good on him, don't you think? Nice and tight, you always said you appreciate tight clothes. He's got some broad shoulders, and a broad chest, too. I mean, you're always aware of that, but now... maybe he's showing you on purpose?" Her face is pinkening, but Lucy can't say she hates this.
Their eyes are wandering, now, though conversation still flows. University, work, lunch, they talk about it all. As a matter of fact, Gajeel had thought that car would be an easy fix, but as he was giving it a test drive, the brake seems a little too flexible, and when he tried stopping to car, it curved a little bit left, and turns out he has to replace the entire brake system. Lucy thanks Gajeel for sticking his hands behind his head, because now Levy's not looking at his face. Distracted as she is, he's been stealing a few looks himself, probably trying to figure out of the ration of Levy's waist to hips is even possible.
The food comes. Gajeel got a steak, as always, and Levy's eating a shrimp dish. Oh, and alcohol came too. Two beers to start, then a few more, and a couple more after. Levy's pinkening and Gajeel's getting louder, and now Lucy really has to work.
"Music, Gajeel. What's playing? Doesn't matter, but it sounds fun, right? Dancing kind of music. Why don't you dance? With Levy?" He doesn't look sure, though, so she pulls up a party from a couple weeks ago. "Remember Sting's party? Levy danced then. C'mon, she loves to dance, you know. Ask. I'm sure she'll be happy to." Either the alcohol gave him courage or she's getting good at this, but either way, he's standing and offering her a hand.
"Want to dance?" He asks, and her eyes widen. Lucy switches over quickly.
"Yes."
"Why not?" He pulls her to her feet, and they make their way to the dancefloor. A few people are already at it, laughing and swinging and having fun. Their whoops seem to drive the two on; Levy places a hand on his shoulder and he hold to other, while his other hand settle at her hip. The beat is fast, lively, so there's little room for awkwardness, especially with the drink in their veins. They start out okay, but the longer they're out there the more fun they have, until they're stumbling about all over the place in some ruin of a dance, laughing their faces off. Levy trips at one point, so Gajeel just hugs her to his chest, holding her up until she finds her feet. That brings more laughter from them, but Levy's is shyer, and she curls closer to him.
Two hours later they tumble out of the tavern, tipsy and pink cheeked and with wide smiles on their faces. Levy's got her heel in hand and Gajeel's practically holding her up, the girl small and exhilarated and exhausted. He stops in front of a car and tries to unlock it, pressing the button on his keys to no avail. He frowns, pressing it again and again. Then he blinks and squints at the car. It looks nothing like his own. "Oh."
Levy bursts into laughter, and soon they're a mess all over again. They manage to find the car and climb in, breathless with laughter.
Gajeel turns to her, grinning. "Nice break, right?"
Levy bounces in her seat happily, eyes shining. "Mhmm! You're the best, Gajeel," she tells him, and his smile widens.
"I know, I know. You can thank me by paying next next time, Shrimp," he tells her. His expression softens. "I'm glad you had fun, though. You deserve a break."
Levy smiles at him, a big, red lipped smile, teeth and all. "Thank you, Gajeel," she says, then stills and looks up at him. "I think I should thank you now, though."
Gajeel laughs. "I think one dinner is enough for tod-" He's cut off by Levy's lips on his.
Lucy gasps, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She watches, wide eyed, as Levy props herself up on the center console to reach him better. If she's shocked, though, Gajeel is something else. His eyes blow wide, and she hears him inhale sharply. His hands hover in the air, completely unsure of what to do. Hell, she's unsure what to do. Maybe nothing at all. Natsu was right, about how things have played out so far. Maybe he'll be right about the rest. If he is, her work is done. They can handle it now.
Gajeel's closed his eyes, and his hands are resting uncertainly on her waist. Levy pulls back after another moment, her big eyes blinking open. Gajeel stares at her, bewildered. "There you go!" Levy tells him happily. "Thank you for th-"
Gajeel's on her before she can blink, his hand at the back of her head to press her closer into his kiss. He pushes her back into her seat, leaning over her, covering her tiny frame with his towering body. Levy's little squeak of surprise is swallowed by his lips, but she quickly melts into him, her eyes closing as she deepens the kiss. Her hands come up to hold his jaw, and Lucy can only watch, her eyes wide.
"Aye, perfect timing," a voice says from over her shoulder, and Lucy starts, ripping the earbuds from her ears. Natsu grins at her, and winks. "Didn't I tell you it'd work?"
It's amazing how he's able to completely throw her off and then ground her in an instant. "How did you-"
He shrugs. "Front door was open." He shifts his attention back to the screen, leaning to get a closer look, one hand propped on the back of her chair and the other on the edge of her desk. She stares at him incredulously for a moment, then blinks and looks back to her screen, sticking her earbuds back in.
Gajeel's practically climbed over the console, Levy's tiny body completely lost behind his, save for her hands; they're tangling themselves in his wild black hair, tugging, curling, pulling. Their kisses are open mouthed and heated, much to Lucy's embarrassment, though Natsu seems to be of a differing opinion. He plucks one earbud from her ear and sticks it in his, listening with a grin, and apparently completely unaware of the way his closeness is making Lucy's pulse speed up. He presses down the microphone. "Get behind the jaw, and use tongue. She'll love that."
Lucy stares at him, astonished. If anything, it's the sheer casualness of his statement that has her colouring. He had kissed her behind the jaw. She turns back.
If she was embarrassed to be watching this before, she's positively mortified to be watching it now with Natsu here. Her eyes go wide when a certain sound it heard from wherever Levy is hidden under Gajeel, and Natsu snorts at her squeak of embarrassment, smirking. Maybe he's used to this stuff; she's an angel, not a devil like him. She's pure.
Natsu sighs and picks up the mic again. "Alright, Gajeel," he says. "Easy, dude. Easy. First kiss, remember. You might be a bit drunk, but you'll regret it later if you guys go too far." Lucy looks at him in confusion. Isn't this going exactly as he said it would? Why's he stopping it?
Natsu catches the question in her eyes. "This is your assignment, remember?" He reminds her. "You can say they only kissed once or twice, but if they bed up, you can't really cover that. You're supposed to only make them fall in love, and prove it, right?"
Lucy blinks, and nods. "Yeah. Yeah, only prove that they've fallen in love. Doing that... um, I guess doing that isn't really showing they love each other, only..." She blushes.
"That they've been wanting to fuck each other?" Natsu grins, amusement in his pretty green eyes.
Her cheeks darken. "Yeah, that."
His grin widens, and the eyes that she had trained specifically away from him widen when he presses a small kiss on her cheek. "You're cute, Luce."
She stills, and side eyes him cautiously. He's looking back at the screen, completely at ease, the ass. This is the second time he's kissed her, the second time he's made her heart flutter, with no right at all. Still, she has to stop herself from touching her cheek. "Um. Yeah." He only glances at her for a second before looking back.
Gajeel's stopped his attack, settling on holding Levy close to him, tucked right in his chest. His nose is buried in her hair and all Lucy can see of the small girl is a few messy locks of her blue hair and her hands, curled up in Gajeel's shirt. Well, attempting to curl; Gajeel's shirt's so tight, she can do little but grasp a tiny fold.
Gajeel shifts his head, so his cheek rests on the top of her head. He takes a deep breath. "I love you, Levy," he tells her, softly.
Natsu sighs. "Here comes the sapp-" Lucy clamps a hand over his mouth, her eyes never leaving the screen. He was going to ruin it, the inconsiderable ass.
Levy's hands still - then they hold his shirt tighter, her hands clenching. "I love you too, Gajeel," she replies, her voice muffled by wherever she's tucked her head.
Lucy's free hand flies to her heart, her entire expression melting. "Oh my gosh," she breaths, not taking her eyes away. "Oh my gosh, that's so sweet!" She frees Natsu to squish her cheeks in happiness, her heart completely melted. "They said they love each other! Did you hear that! They said they love each other!" She bounces in her seat delightedly, clenching her hands to contain her excitement.
She freezes. "Wait." Her eyes widen. "They said they love each other! I need to right this down!" She scrambles around her desk for a sticky note and a pen, nearly knocking her head into Natsu's when she reaches over into one of the drawers. "What time is it? Eleven sixteen, got it. And Gajeel said it first, with her name, then Lev-" she cuts herself off, pushing the pen and paper away. "This can wait, I want to see what happens next!" She fixes her eyes on the screen, leaning forward with her head propped between her hands.
Natsu laughs at her antics. "You're so weir-" Lucy shushes him violently. "Okay, okay. Weirdo," he whispers to himself.
"How long?" Levy's asking, her fingers drawing random patterns on his back.
Gajeel exhales in contemplation. "Hmmm. Probably since that time you were sitting with a popcorn bucket on your head, laughing your ass off at that one movie night three months ago, or something. But I think that's just when I realized that I had feeling for you. I've been falling for you since we met."
Levy giggles happily, and Gajeel smiles, pressing a kiss into her hair. "You really are just a sap," she jokes, leaving her patterns to hug him tighter.
He chuckles. "Maybe I am. For you, anyways."
Lucy thinks her heart is going to explode.
"So," Gajeel asks. "When was it for you?"
Levy hums, rearranging herself under him. "Maybe... that picnic we all went on during August?" Lucy wasn't watching them at that point in time, but she'd seen the pictures on Levy's phone whenever she'd look at them, smiling like a dork. A dork in love, anyways. "You made those really good burgers, I remember. Made me think about how nice it would be if you cooked for me all the time." She ducks her head farther into his chest, and Lucy can only picture the blush burning on her cheeks.
Gajeel grins at the implication. "I'll cook you something real nice, then. One of those fancy steaks you like so much, the ones with the cross hatching and the white sauce."
Levy giggles again. "I'd like that."
Lucy holds her fresh mug of coffee to her chest, her smile stretching her cheeks as she rewatches the confession scene in her head. She's been like that ever since Natsu convinced her that they would be fine on their own, and to give them their privacy, even though the two humans technically had no idea they were watching.
He sets his own mug down on the kitchen table, and leans back against the counter, crossing his arms. "You're gonna hurt your cheeks if you keep that up," he warns her, a slight smile on his lips.
Lucy pouts at him, drawn out of her mind's recordings. "Sorry I'm happy that they finally got together," she sniffs. "Unlike some people, heartwarming confessions actually, you know, warm my heart."
Natsu sighs, rolling his eyes. "Sure, it's cute and all, but there's no passion," he replies, pushing the same point that they've been arguing about for the past twenty minutes. "Just soft lovey dovey feels."
Lucy's pout deepens. "There is passion, just not the kind you're used to. Passion of the heart." She sips her coffee pointedly.
He watches her for a moment, then smiles. "Is that the kind of passion you like, then? Love, instead of lust?"
She looks a bit startled by the question, then raises her mug higher in front of her, almost defensively. "I... yes, of course. I'm an angel, after all." Her voice is tinged with suspicion, but she's right to be wary. His grin widens.
"I guess I'll have to woo you, then." He shrugs, his grin sharp. "I thought lust was working perfectly, but apparently you like fire in the heart, not the bed."
He suppresses a laugh as her eyes going wide and her cheeks fill with pink, but nearly loses his control when she squeaks in surprise. "What?" Her voice is high, startled.
"You're so fun to tease, Luce," he tells her, picking up his mug and heading into the living room to join her. She watches him with wide eyes as he sits next to her, and shrinks away when he tosses an arm over her shoulders. He rolls his eyes again. "I was kidding, Luce," he tells her, sighing at her tenseness.
Her shoulders loosen, just the tiniest bit. She watches him warily. "You... you are truly horrible, you know that?"
He laughs, and kisses her temple lightly. She freezes. "Horribly wonderful, I like to say," he says, smiling. "Seriously, though, you need to loosen up. At this rate, you're heart's gonna give out."
"Yeah," she scowls, "because of you!"
He raises an eyebrow, grinning. Her eyes widen.
"I didn't mean-" she starts, and slumps in defeat, her eyes closing. "Ugh, forget it." She slurps her coffee tiredly, and gives him a withering glare, her cheeks pink.
He laughs again, hugging her closer to him. She doesn't fight, leaning against him wearily. Looks like all the emotions of the day are finally catching up to her, despite the coffee. His teasing dies on his lips, and his expression softens. "You did good today," he tells her, picking up his mug and taking a sip.
She looks up at him, her gold eyes watching him, surprised. "Really?"
He smiles at her. "Really."
Her expression warms. "Oh." She turns back, smiling faintly, and tucks herself closer to his side. "Thanks. But I couldn't have done it without your help."
Natsu snorts softly. "Yeah, without me, who knows what sort of slow burn you would've dragged out. You never would've passed that class."
She clicks her tongue indignantly, pouting that cute little pout of hers. "Yes, I would," she protests, but there's little energy in her voice. She yawns.
He smiles softly. "Why don't we get you in bed?"
Her eyes snap open. He doesn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
"Not like that," he assures her. "You know, for an angel, you're surprisingly dirty minded."
Her cheeks colour. "Well, with you, I never know what to think."
"Well, think that I'm being a good little devil and reminding you to go to bed. Those papers aren't going to write themselves in the morning, you know."
She groans at the mention of the work she still has to do, throwing her head back in despair. He smiles. "Ugh, fine." She starts to heave herself off the sofa, but he sets his mug down and takes hers from her, doing to same, before she can get up. She squeaks when he gathers her up in his arms and stands, throwing her arms around his next instinctively, eyes widening. She does that a lot, he's noticing, but he can't complain; it's funny to watch her surprise. And her eyes are beautiful. "What are you doing?" She asks, clinging to him tightly.
"Taking you to bed," he replies, making his way to her room. "Relax, I'm not going to drop you."
"Oh." Her body loosens, and she rests her head against his shoulder.
He carries her to her room, familiar with the layout of her home. Her bed is at the opposite end of her room from her desk, tucked close to the wall. He grins at the little angel wings that decorate her blanket.
He hold her with one arm to pull away her blanket, then lowers her gently onto her bed. She clings to him for a second before sighing and pulling away, settling down. He pulls the blanket back over her, tucking her in like a baby. She watches him with tired eyes, something soft in them. "Thank you, Natsu," she tells him, smiling softly. "For all your help."
He pauses to look at her, and smiles. "No problem, Luce," he says. He straightens, and turns to go. "Night, then. Sweet dreams, angel."
"What, not going to join me?" She teases, yawning. He turns back to her, watching for a moment as her eyes close, then grins.
"Do you want me to?" He asks, and she cracks one eye open to glare at him half heartedly. He laughs again. "Good night, Lucy."
She hums, her eye slipping closed again. "Night, Natsu."
He watches her for a moment, a warmth spreading in his chest. She's different, all drained of her fiery liveness, a gentleness about her that he doesn't usually get to see.
He shuts the door behind him.
He gathers up their mugs and puts them in the sink, half full, and turns off the lights on his way out. He lingers at the doorway for a moment, eyes roaming the dark stillness of her apartment.
He has a feeling he'll be back here soon.