AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to my next NaLu story. I'm planning on releasing the first three chapters together, and the remaining chapters will follow some days later, one by one or together.
This fic can be considered as a prequel to my other story, Child's Play, but they're only loosely connected to each other, and as such this will also stand as an independent story. No sweat.
Spoiler alert if you haven't read the manga, and aren't up to date on the anime.
The story is rated a high-T for sexual thoughts and suggestive themes, ye have been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
It was a beautiful winter morning in Magnolia.
The birds were tweeting away in their homes nestled in the arbitrary branches, creating a synchrony of gentle music that was pleasant to every ear it befell. The evergreen trees danced softly under the tranquil wind, their leaves rustling in a crescendo that was diverse one moment to the next; the remaining foliage had lost its vegetation, but all the same stood hauntingly beautiful in their barrenness.
The cackle of children playing their games for a fun pastime brought an easy smile to the watching adults, reminiscing of a childhood long passed. The din of occasional conversation commenting on the beautiful weather and ongoing projects of knitting the variety of woollen cloth items in preparation for Christmas, just added to the cosy, comfortable atmosphere, creating warmth that added to the snug feeling of mittens and stocking hats.
All these appreciable moments that went on in the world outside her window did nothing to assuage the righteous anger of a blonde stellar mage as she stared down seething at her pink haired partner and his exceed fast asleep on the bed.
Her bed.
Lucy Heartfilia grumbled profanities under her breath that would have caused the dirtiest of sailors to blush in embarrassment, wondering when she had gone into such a cavernous sleep so as to not even notice the fire dragon slayer and his cat sneak into her apartment and into the bed. She half-heartedly blamed the cosy winter nights and the feeling of utter satisfaction snuggling into her comforter gave her at the end of long, tiring days in this weather, coaxing her into an unconsciousness so astoundingly deep that she didn't even notice her over-heated body until the sun was shining brightly outside her window.
Over-heated thanks to her furnace of a best friend.
"Natsu, wake up!"
The overgrown man-child didn't even budge a sliver, Happy mumbling quietly for her to keep quiet. Another fuse blown, the blonde mage growled and rashly pulled her comforter off of the slumbering un-invited guests, eliciting a groan from the pinkette.
"Luigi, lemme sleep!"
"It's Lucy, you ass! Now get up, and go home!"
Natsu didn't answer, choosing instead to tumble back to sleep, the blue exceed grumbling about weirdoes before doing the same. Lucy huffed in derision, trying to settle on a course of action she could take to get the two idiots moving; and after a moment of thought, deciding that the oncoming migraine might only get worse with their antics, she suddenly deflated, her anger completely abandoning her. She sighed and shook her head in resignation and begrudging acceptance; such was the frequency with which the situation was repeated that she wondered why she even reacted anymore, it only caused her to suffer!
Besides, it was not worth ruining a perfectly beautiful morning.
Nodding to herself with that observation, she instead walked languidly to her wardrobe, humming a tune known only to her from a past long forgotten, leaving affectionate memories behind. Lucy decided to take a long, overdue, necessary soak in the bath, and finally have the occasion to use the salts she had bought from the sea-side town they had gone to for a mission sometime after the Alvarez attack almost a year back, not having had the opportunity to try them until now.
Ah, Alvarez.
The stellar mage frowned slightly in recollection of the darkest moment in all their lives; with Zeref, the Spriggan Twelve, Acnologia.
And E.N.D.
Etherious Natsu Dragneel, the vilest of the demons that belonged to the Books of Zeref, the dark mage's younger brother who had died before his time, and resurrected as a demon with the sole purpose of bringing an end to his older brother's immortal life.
A purpose, and name, that didn't at all suit the Natsu they all knew and loved.
For most of the encounter, the fire dragon slayer had refused to believe any of the things that Zeref had made clear every time that they had met in battle, instead fighting the dark mage with all his might and to the very limits of his power, in spite of the older man's warning about their lives being connected; if Zeref died, so would Natsu. Happy, having heard and known the fact to be the bitter truth, had tried to stop his father-figure from recklessly attacking the dark mage, and pleaded with him to fall back so that they could think of an alternative plan, where Natsu didn't have to die.
He might have reluctantly agreed, but still hadn't believed any of it to be true.
Until he had seen Lucy lying on the floor in that room where DiMaria had held them, blood marring the majority of her skin not covered by cloth; so lost he was in his rage that he didn't even notice that most of it wasn't hers, but belonged to the time-controlling swordswoman lying in a pool of her own blood in one corner of the rubble, trembling in fear of his wrath she had already been victim to.
That was when he had truly realized the presence of the demon that had laid dormant in him all these years, as well as its potential and power that could mean the end of the dark wizard. And if the vile existence helped him take revenge for the harm bestowed upon his nakama, for Lucy's death, he would gladly turn himself over to his inner demon's control.
And he had almost been on the verge of doing exactly that.
Natsu had confessed to her a week after the war, after things slowly took a turn for the normal, that if Gray hadn't come in his way ready to battle him to death, and Erza hadn't beaten some sense into them, that if Lucy hadn't rushed to him when she did after his encounter with the ice mage with the reassurance that she was alive, he would've ended up losing to E.N.D., becoming E.N.D.
And God knows what damage he would've done then, to the world, and to his nakama.
He had smiled at her then, his eyes still haunted by all that had passed, all that he had learned of his heritage, and told her that he would never be able to repay her for the courage she'd shown in opening and rewriting his book, and giving his existence a new, different, worthwhile meaning. Her being alive and kicking, as well as Igneel's guidance during his unconsciousness, had saved him from literally going over the edge; and her admirable expertise in the written word had then made sure he wouldn't need to be burdened with his dark self any longer, something he was immensely grateful for.
He didn't think he could be any more indebted to her, before she went ahead and saved his ass again during the fight with Acnologia.
Natsu had laughed unreservedly at her red face, an obvious result of his praises and appreciation, before pulling her in a crushing hug that spoke volumes; he was still trembling slightly as his lean arms tightened around her, his breath hitching slightly when she rubbed his back in comfort.
"I saw you die again, Luce. I wasn't able to keep my promise."
Lucy had held onto him tenderly, knowing any reassurances she offered would not help in the slightest; his grief was still profound, his wounds still fresh. It would take some time before he healed emotionally, and Lucy was ready to wait as long as it would take him to recover.
He had grinned widely at her, laughed rambunctiously with his nakama, picked fights with Gray and Gajeel, but deep down she knew he had still hurt, still doubted, still feared that one day he might wake not as Natsu they knew and loved, but as E.N.D.
Despite her reassurances that that wouldn't happen, and even if he did turn to E.N.D., he would never hurt his family and friends as it was ingrained in his genes to protect them, not harm them, Natsu had stopped spending the nights anywhere near her.
Those had been very lonely nights, and she had felt like she'd been abandoned all over again.
Lucy sighed in bliss as she slid into the tub, letting the memories fade to the back of her mind. It didn't matter now anyways; as suddenly as he had stopped, Natsu had begun his bed-crashing tendencies again with such a gusto that for a few months, there hadn't been a single night where he hadn't snuck into her bed, with or without Happy. She had allowed him the privilege for a few weeks after it started, but began protesting avidly when it escalated to the point where he had started crushing her to him with his lean arms around her; Lucy didn't know if that was an unconscious reaction, or sound decision, but all the same knew that it had to stop.
There was only so much a girl could take before she erupted like a waiting volcano and lost all control, jumping the poor man's bones and rocking him into the next century.
She coughed slightly at the thought, dunking her head in the warm water to wash away the errant feelings. Lucy knew she and Natsu were best friends, partners, and obviously something more; but she wanted him to define what that was before she gave in to her growing passion.
Atleast, that had been the plan.
It had been more than a year now since everything was settled, and a few months since she won the reward for Best Writer, as well as his promise of together forever.
She just wasn't sure in what form had he meant the together part; as friends or as lovers?
He hadn't said or done anything to clue her in to a particular answer, and so Lucy had concluded, her heart heavy, that he probably had meant it as partners and best of friends, as nakama.
Lucy had been nakama-zoned.
She snorted at her romance-less existence; Levy was expecting a baby with Gajeel, Juvia and Gray had started dating, Mirajane had finally worn down Fried, and was planning her wedding, Elfman and Evergreen were already back from their month long honeymoon; even Lisanna and Bickslow had gone on a date and were planning on doing it again, and Carla had finally accepted Happy's fish. And here she was pining after an impossible love with a reckless dense idiot that probably hadn't even gone through puberty yet.
Lucy sighed in irritation of her own slow love-life, before deciding in a spark of anger that enough is enough. She had done everything she could to gain her partner's attention, short of literally throwing herself at him butt-naked and confessing her undying love, but none of it had worked to even plant a teeny, tiny seed of attraction towards her in his conscious.
She knew a lost battle when she saw one.
Lucy had spent countless sleep-deprived nights with her grief over a lost chance at a happy life with him, and cried herself out of tears for his lack of interest in her in the romantic sense. She didn't want his avid protection and friendly devotion, she wanted his heart!
Something he was apparently determined not to give her.
With determination that would put Natsu's recklessness to shame, she rose from the tub and dried herself off with a towel. Hurriedly dressing and pulling her long tresses in a lone pony-tail, she all but wrenched the bathroom door open and walked with sure steps towards the apartment door.
And without a glance back at her sleeping partners, she shut the door and made her way to the guild, seeking the demon matchmaker barmaid of Fairy Tail.
