So a quick little one shot, I had this written up long before baby joined my team just never got round to finishing it up, while I work on the next chapter of Changes here's a little something, I used one of the prompts from Nalu Week - present.
Enjoy ^^
It was fairly rare for it to snow in Magnolia so when the first flakes of snow started to fall exclamations of excitement broke out across town. Kids donned their winter coats and gloves and dashed outside to play in the freshly fallen snow while parents watched from the doors or joined in. Others snuggled in and enjoyed a warm cup of cocoa in front of the fire.
Lucy on the other hand was far too distracted to truly enjoy the winter wonderland falling around her as she ambled towards the guild, in no particular rush to reach her destination; in fact she was probably trying to delay getting there at all.
She sighed, a wisp of warm air escaped her parted lips, she tugged her coat tighter and was beginning to regret not wearing more layers, the cold biting into her gloveless fingers and sending shivers through her body.
It was late in the afternoon, a lot later then Lucy would normally appear at the guild, and she had been deliberately stalling but she knew if she didn't make an appearance her friends would worry so she had stumbled through her preparations and left only a little while ago but the closer she got to the guild the more her apprehensions grew.
With another frustrated sigh she stopped walking and looked up at the sky. How had things grown so complicated? She wished there was someone that had the answers, someone that could guide her but there was no one she could tell.
Not about this.
Turning on the spot she headed back the way she came but instead of heading home she turned towards Magnolia park. The one place she could escape reality, hopefully.
As expected everything was covered in a layer of fresh snow, the scene enchanting to look at but only serving to remind Lucy that it was cold. Hugging herself, she sat on a park bench under a blossomless tree grimacing only slightly at the cold damp saturating her bottom.
Avoiding the guild wasn't something she could do all day, especially since it wasn't just any day. Christmas day. The day to spend with friends and family, exchange gifts, share cheer and happiness and Lucy wanted nothing more than to do all of that but she was finding it difficult to summon the spirit.
All of her gifts were already at the guild for everyone... well almost everyone. Natsu... the only person she just couldn't seem to find anything for and before she knew it was Christmas eve and other things had began to occupy her mind. She felt horribly guilty that she hadn't gotten him anything; he was her best friend... maybe more.
She groaned, she didn't even know what they were, he'd treat her as if she was nothing more than his closest friend, his precious partner, and then there were times when he would look at her as if she was truly special, he'd smile at her in a way that had her heart racing and her face warming up but then those moments were far and few between.
Despite what had happened between a little over a month ago.
She wasn't even sure how it had happened, perhaps it was the relief of finally defeating Tartarus and saving the world of magic, the happiness of seeing each other alive, worse for wears but alive, the exhaustion, her own grief over losing a spirit... so many factors.
But as they clung to each other, sobs of anguish, relief and absolute fatigue wracking her beat up body, his warmth saturating her, his rough hands running up and down her back in a reassuring manner it hadn't even fazed her when his mouth moved over hers, it had felt natural to respond.
She'd clung to him like a lifeline, needing to feel as much of him as humanly possible and it hadn't taken long for all the pent emotions in both of them for things to escalate. Desperate and clumsy, since they were both so new to this, he touched her in places no other man had ever touched her, showered her with feverish kisses and gentle caresses that had made her forget all her sadness. In turn she had torn at what remained of his clothes and touched every part of him, taking comfort from his warmth, from the way his muscles seem to quiver under her nails that trailed across his skin and from the way he muttered words of endearments and sounds of elation.
It was a first... and it was a last.
There was never a repeat nor had they spoken about it, they just continued on the way they always had almost as if it hadn't happened at all. At first she felt awkward but Natsu's apparent indifference, though it hurt her, made her force her feelings back to the deepest part of her broken heart and she continued to be the dutiful partner that followed his reckless ways. She could never bring herself to leave him, like a fool she took what she could get and if friendship was all he would offer then she'd settle for that.
Only the situation had changed, become somewhat complicated.
While Natsu remained oblivious Lucy had to deal with the repercussions of that moment of weakness.
The sound of children squealing broke Lucy out of her reverie, she looked up to the group of young boys playing in the snow, each throwing snowballs harmlessly while a little way away from them a little girl worked on a small snowman. Despite herself she found herself smiling, so carefree, and so innocent. Absent-mindedly she brought a reddened hand to her belly and held it gently, for the briefest moment a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders and she allowed herself to be awed.
It only took them one moment and they'd created something amazing.
A month had gone by and worry began to gnaw at her as the week of her period came and went with only some minor spotting. It had taken her another week to find the courage to go to a pharmacy and buy a test and then a further couple days before she finally took it eventually leading to last night where she spent most of the night staring at the little stick that flashed positive, the glaring red almost taunting.
How was she supposed to face Natsu now that she knew she was carrying his child? How was she supposed to tell him when he showed no interest in remembering that day? And how was she supposed to show her face in the guild when six months down the line she'd no longer be able to hide the evidence under a loose sweater?
As she continued to watch the children play, the heaviness returned and she didn't even try to stop the tears from overflowing and trailing down her cheeks.
And to top it all off she still didn't have a present for him.
Annoyed she scrubbed her face with the back of her hands and took a deep shuddering breath just before a familiar white scarf fell loosely around her neck.
"You're gonna catch a cold if you don't wear warmer clothes you know."
For a split moment her heart stopped beating as fear seized the aching muscle, she quickly tried to compose herself before she looked over her shoulder up at Natsu whose brows were pulled together in concern.
"N- Natsu!" She exclaimed in surprise, hating the way she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you obviously." He came round to the other side of the bench and sat down next to her, the side of his body flush against hers. Instantly his body heat penetrated her coat and warmed her up, taking advantage of his closeness she relaxed against him and sighed, almost in defeat – no matter what she'd always fall back into depending on him. "I think the real question is why are you here instead of at the guild celebrating with the rest of us, it's Christmas day and you're sitting on a wet park bench on your own trying to get yourself ill." He scolded.
"I wasn't trying to get myself ill, I just – I just needed to think about some stuff."
"And you couldn't have done that at the guild while opening presents."
"Between the fighting and excitement a person can barely hear themselves think in the guild."
"...Fair enough." He relented. "But you should have wrapped up better."
"Yeah... sorry." She lowered her head and buried her face in his scarf, it was still warm from where he had been wearing it and it smelled like him, she peeked up at him to see he was looking over at the children she had been watching before taking a discreet sniff of his scarf, his scent making her feel at ease.
He bumped his shoulder against hers and she looked up to meet his carefree grin, the grin that never failed to bring a blush to her cheeks.
"So where's my present, you left one for everyone else but there wasn't one for me."
She grimaced before putting on her most apologetic expression; with her fingers twisting together nervously she came clean.
"The thing is I kind of didn't get you anything..." She looked away from him before she saw the disappointed look on his face, unsure she could handle that look from him right now, instead she ploughed on with her explanation. "You see, I looked and looked but I just didn't know what to get you and before I knew it, it was too late... I'm so sorry." She whispered, her eyes burning again.
"It's ok..." Natsu said, her head shot to meet his gaze and he was just smiling at her, not a hint of disappointment which only confused her, Natsu normally got very childish about this sort of thing. "You already got me a present." He added.
"I did?" When? Instead of answering her, his grin widened and he settled into his seat with a certain calmness that kind of scared her. "Natsu?"
"So what were you thinking about, it must have been important for you to sit out in the cold with that poor excuse for a coat?"
Her first instinct was to defend her seven thousand jewel coat but he wasn't wrong, it wasn't protecting her from the cold at all so she let it slide, the other thing though she couldn't brush off. She could say it wasn't that important and move on but she felt that this was hanging in the air between them and as much as it endangered their friendship she needed to know; they needed to talk about it.
"I was thinking that we really need to talk about what happened between us... after Tartarus..." She trailed off and Natsu stiffened. But it was ok she kind of expected this reaction.
"I remember."
"You're very good at acting like you've forgotten." She chided.
"How could I forget, you... I... we... geez Luce we had sex, not something a guy quickly forgets."
"Then why? You... we acted like nothing happened... why?" She shook her head. "I understand if you thought that it was a mistake but I think it needs to be made clear so that I know where I stand."
"A mistake? Hardly. Something that felt as great as that couldn't be a mistake." She couldn't have stopped the blush even if she wanted to; he thought it had felt great...! Geez Lucy that's not the point – the important thing was he didn't think of it as a mistake.
"So if not a mistake then why?" He sighed; leaning forwards he rested his elbows on his knees before dropping his head into his hands.
"You were tired, injured and so sad over losing Aquarius that you probably weren't thinking straight and though I was comforting you I shouldn't have... no matter what way you look at it I took advantage of you when you were feeling vulnerable." Wait, what? "I enjoyed it so much but I felt like a complete jerk... I thought that maybe you'd want to forget about it so I never brought it up and then you never brought it up so I guess..." He smiled humourlessly as he chuckled at himself. "Guess I'm an idiot huh?"
"We're both idiots." She stated. "I never once thought you took advantage of me, Natsu, if anything I believed I'd taken advantage of you, I hadn't thought twice when you kissed me and honestly I needed the comfort you were offering, I need you at that point more then I needed anyone else and you helped me forget everything bad that had happened in exchange for something ... amazing."
While he had been avoiding it for her sake, she had also been avoiding it, they probably could have solved this issue way before if only she had communicated with him about it and not hidden behind her walls. They had a bond that wouldn't be easily broken and she should have trusted that bond from the very beginning.
"If we had talked about this before now what would have happened?" She wandered out loud.
"Well, we would have cleared the air between us for a start and..."
"And?"
"We'd probably be snuggled up in bed, naked, with hot mugs of cocoa enjoying Christmas day, alone."
Oh my. She should feel embarrassed and she was sure her face was aflame but she couldn't fight the yearning because that sounded so good and she so desperately wanted just that.
"Not sure if the guild would allow us a peaceful day in." Natsu snorted, nodded his head in agreement.
"I'd like to see them try and stop us, I'll set all their asses on fire and send them packing for even disturbing us."
Was this happening? They were talking as if this could actually be a possibility. After a moment of silence, Lucy started fidgeting, her levels of embarrassment rising as she actually thought about what she was about to suggest.
"You know..." She started, catching his attention. "It's Christmas day and I have an empty apartment with the things I need to make us hot mugs of cocoa and a bed that's been awfully cold without y- Woah!" Before she'd even finished speaking he pulled her up from the bench with a single tug of her wrist and started dragging her back in the direction of her apartment. "Wait Natsu there's no rush." She had to jog to keep up with him.
"Are you kidding me, a month, Lucy, that's how long I've had to hold back since discovering this whole sex thing with you, it's like having a single taste of the most amazing fire ever and then being told I couldn't have it again, ever, but I can, and I'm very eager for another taste."
"I – I see." That was one way to put it she supposed but trust him to compare to it to eating something. "Oh and again I'm really sorry I didn't get you anything for Christmas."
"I already said you did so don't worry about it."
"But I can't remember getting you anything." She protested.
She walked straight into his back when he abruptly stopped walking. "Ouch, Natsu wha-"
'"You don't know?" He asked, sounding surprised, he turned on the spot to look down at her, she sniffed, annoyed, before responding.
"Know what?"
Slowly he crept forwards before pressing his index finger against her lower stomach, it only took her a second to understand and when she did her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock.
"You know!" She exclaimed.
"So you do know."
"Of course I do but more importantly how do you know?" Maybe he had gone to her apartment before he found her at the park and seen the test; she had left it lying on her desk, right out in the open for anyone to see.
"Your smell changed, at first I didn't know why but Gajeel and Wendy had noticed to so I knew I wasn't going crazy, it was Wendy that told me and boy were they all shocked when I said it was mine, it was kind of insulting actually," he added with a frown but quickly carried on, "but anyway she said something about your hormone levels changing making your body give out a different scent or something." He exclaimed, as cheery as usually while she continued to gape at him like a fish out of water.
"How long have you known?"
"Couple of weeks."
"And you didn't think to tell me anything." He knew, he knew everything, before she did, and even Wendy and Gajeel knew... oh Mavis!
"Well it's not something I could just bring up out of the blue, you clearly didn't know and there was no easy way of telling you, I don't think 'guess what Luce, remember that time I took advantage of you while you were feeling down? Yeah... so I kinda got you pregnant' would have worked." She supposed not, she definitely would have freaked out, in a big way.
"I guess it was better I found out myself." She finally uttered.
"When did you find out?" He asked.
"Last night."
"Wow really, wasn't your period thingy was like a couple of weeks ago?"
"Yeah – wait how do you know when my periods are?"
"Again, that hormone stuff changes you scent, I always know when you're... on." Dear Mavis this was embarrassing, maybe she could summon Virgo to dig her a very deep whole.
"O-k that's not important right now, what is important is that you know about our baby and you're... ok with it?"
"Well yeah, it's pretty neat don't you think." He suddenly stopped grinning and eyed her apprehensively. "Are you not ok with it? Cause I have to say now I don't approve of –"
"THAT... didn't even cross my mind as an option." Natsu sagged visibly in relief. "If you're ok with it then I am to, but this is going to be a big responsibility, ok Natsu?"
"When have I never taken an adventure seriously?... look I know it's a big deal, and a lot will probably change but I can't think of a better present then having a family with you."
"Oh Natsu..." She sighed, her eyes were stinging again but this time she knew they were happy tears, she could never have imagined that things would turn around so drastically in one day.
"Now I don't know about you but I'm itching to get back to that apartment of yours for that promise of cocoa and that not very subtle invitation to the cosiest bed in Fiore." He all but whispered as he leant closer, lowering his face until it was breadth away from hers.
"I'm also quite eager to get back but there's one more thing."
"Huh?"
"Just this." She pushed herself up onto tiptoes, closing the distance between them until her lips met his. He stiffened only briefly in surprise before responding enthusiastically. He wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her flush against him, saturating her in his warmth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled into the kiss. "I love you." She whispered against his lips. "I have for a very long time." She confessed.
She squealed when he hoisted her up and spun them around in circles, both laughing giddily.
"Me too, always." He finally said when her feet touched the pavement again.
They stood, grinning at each other like two idiots in the snow. They may have started in the wrong order but then when had they ever done anything by the book.
And in the end Lucy managed to give him the best present ever.