Paper Moon

Chapter 2

Marionette

January 25th, X794

"Natsu..." Lucy growled as she stared down at her bed, her eyebrows crinkled in frustration and teeth grinding in restraint. "How many times have I told you…" she grabbed the familiar scarf and yanked with all her strength, "stop sneaking into my bed!"

She grimaced at the half naked young man now sprawled out on her floor, still snoozing peacefully. This habit of his had grown progressively worse over the past few years. He would easily pry open her window, though sometimes she would intentionally leave it unlocked for him (surprisingly to his disapproval. He would reprimand her for it in the morning, saying it was "dangerous" and that "weirdoes could come sneaking into her home.") After breaking into her apartment, he was in the perfect position to crawl right into bed with her from the windowsill and drift off to sleep.

It drove her crazy for a long time. She would yell at him, telling him that it is perverted and a breach of the social norm for their status (though he never seemed to understand any of this.) There would be kicking and slapping and complaining, all on her part. And when she finally calmed down, he would fix her with that penetrating stare of his, the one that caused her stomach to knot and her bones to numb, and he would simply say "but we're best friends," like sleeping together was the most normal thing any set of friends could do. She once made the mistake of rhetorically asking if he snuck into Gray's bed ever and he nearly burned her apartment down in anger.

She never said it again.

Lucy just simply began to expect him to be there cuddled up against her every morning, usually causing her to profusely sweat because she had still yet to acclimate to his extraordinarily high body temperature. For a brief period about a year back, the yelling had stopped, the assaults came to an end and her exasperation was dissipated. Natsu, apparently picking up on the sudden drop in morning outbursts, began to show up more and more in the middle of the night.

And then one day, Lucy had been struck with a painful and embarrassing realization and she decided that this, whatever this was, needed to stop immediately.

It had not been the act of his late night home invasion that bothered her. Rather what irked her was the fact that she was beginning to not mind it, borderline enjoying it and occasionally hoping for it.

Her mind had begun to tread into dangerous, unforgivable territory and she was in desperation of reigning it back in. If her suspicions were correct, then she was jeopardizing their friendship. Plus, Natsu was relatively emotionally underdeveloped. He was competent enough in friendship and family bonds but romantically? Even she was not sure how, or even if, he could maintain a healthy romantic relationship.

Lucy shook her head.

Okay, Lucy…don't keep doing this to yourself…you're only going to make it worse. She mentally chided.

She finally released his scarf and stalked off to the bathroom, leaving a snoring Natsu on her floor. She needed to get ready for the day and find a job – and soon. Her rent was due on the first of February and she barely had enough for groceries, especially with Natsu and Happy regularly helping themselves to her refrigerator. Their appetites were insatiable.

She was hoping she could find one or two she could do alone that would cover all her upcoming expenses. She weighed the options every time in her head. Either take a couple, easy lower paying jobs by herself and keep all the money. Or take one, more difficult higher paying job with Natsu and split half with him and another half taken out to help pay for the inevitable damages.

She sighed. Was she the only one in the guild with even a tiny sense of self-control?

After her shower, she stepped out of her bathroom to see Natsu had already disappeared. She checked the kitchen to make sure he was really gone. "Hm, strange…he left without even saying goodbye?" That was certainly un-Natsu-like.

She made herself a quick breakfast and headed out for the guild.

"Won't Lucy be wondering where we went?" Happy asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Natsu straightened his jacket and replied, "Well, her rent is due soon, isn't it? We can help her find a job." He slammed a fist into his palm. "That way, when she gets to the guild she doesn't need to look through all the boring crap."

"Aye, sir!"

Arriving at the guild, Natsu immediately went up to the request board and began scanning all the papers, mumbling bits to himself as he skimmed through them.

"Let's see here…attractive girl wanted…"

"No, they won't want Lucy." Happy interjected.

"…Requires an intelligent mage…"

Happy shook his head. "No, that won't do."

"…In need of a mage with exceptional social skills…"

"I don't know, Natsu, Lucy is kind of weird."

"…Aha!" He snatched a paper that was slightly buried beneath the others. "Looking for strong mages who can capture a group of dangerous bandits!"

"Aye!" Happy put his paw in the air.

Natsu stuffed the parchment into his pocket, marching proudly away from the board. "Just wait until Lucy sees this job. It's going to go great!"

He ordered breakfast and waited for his partner to finally arrive. Where was she? He wanted to leave on this job as soon as possible.

Lucy entered the guild without paying much mind to who was there, consumed in thought. She was still upset that Natsu left without so much as a goodbye. For all she knew, he could be gone on a job for a month and the last time they saw each other for that time would have been her yelling at his prone, unconscious form.

She huffed, frustrated and insulted. "Why that rotten je—"

"Lucy!"

Before she was aware of who was yelling out to her, she had a flier in front of her face, startling her from her thoughts. She stumbled back, tripping and falling backwards. But before she hit the ground, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her up and two small ones were on her back, pushing her forward.

She collided into something hard, the momentum propelling her too quickly forward for her to stop. Her head spun from the sudden, jerking motions coupled with her clouded thoughts, fogged by her previous agitation.

"Lucy, are you okay?"

Natsu? Why did he sound so close?

She blinked, finally acknowledging the object in front of her.

He was so close. She could feel his body heat warming her comfortably as she stood there, dumbfounded and embarrassed.

"Luce?" He pressed again.

"Natsu…" She whispered, her cheeks suddenly burning hotter than any heat she had ever felt from him.

Then she realized that the hard thing she actually crashed into was Natsu. She was pulled tightly against his chest. He clutched her as if he were to let her go she would suddenly disappear from the very place she stood.

"They liiiiike each other." Happy snickered into his paws from behind the pair.

That voice. Happy. Happy was watched the entire scenario. They were right at the entrance of the guild. Anyone could see them. If people found out that she was having these strange feelings, it would be the death of her – and more importantly, their friendship.

Then Lucy pushed away roughly as if burned by his presence. His eyes flashed to an unrecognizable emotion but before she could analyze it, it changed again. What was that look she just saw?

"S-sorry." She stammered awkwardly, a harsh red staining her pale skin. "I'm fine. You just surprised me is all." She smoothed out her shirt anxiously, doing all she could to not look at him.

Lucy was about to spin around to slap the blue cat for his previous remark but suddenly Natsu had the flier up to her again, holding it out for her to examine. "Here, I found this." She took the paper from him. "I thought we could go on it together! Like old times!"

His smile covered his whole face, genuine and ecstatic, as if she had already accepted to tagalong with him. And honestly, seeing that overjoyed look on his face, all because he could go on a mission with her, how could she refuse? The job was for two hundred thousand jewels…

Suddenly, the apprehension lifted and she smiled back, shaking her head at her unabashed conceding. "Okay, just don't destroy the town. I do have to pay rent soon."

"I promise!"

The two let Mirajane know that they had accepted the job and decided that they would leave the following morning.

After a few hours of enjoying time with their guild mates, Lucy pushed back from the table, finding Natsu lying under a pile of destroyed furniture with Gray laughing a few feet away.

"Gray, your clothes." She said to him simply.

He jumped and started collecting his missing articles.

"Come back here, ice prick!" Natsu yelled with a small flame puffing from his mouth, jumping out from under the rubble.

She waved her hand in front of his face before he stormed off. He looked at her, one eyebrow lifted in a silent question.

"Yes, Natsu, I'm going to head home. I'm going to get packed for our mission tomorrow. You and Happy should do the same soon as well."

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you're right." He fell quiet for a moment. "Should I meet you at your house or at the train station?"

She shrugged, "Honestly, I'm half expecting you to already be there when I wake up in the morning anyway."

Lucy quickly shut her mouth. Dammit, Lucy! Don't give him the idea that you like it when he's in bed with you. The thought had raced passed her lips before she realized what she was saying, or even thinking. By the time she caught herself, it was already out there, now awkwardly hanging in the air between them.

Natsu was staring at her curiously, as if unsure of how to properly assess that one simple sentence – which had such a complex meaning frantically trying to hide beneath a barely opaque surface. She just held her breath, hoping he could not translate further into what she thoughtlessly said.

And then he smiled. "You're really weird, Luce."

She laughed nervously, waving awkwardly as she walked away. "I know, I'm a weirdo. Weird, weird, weird. That's me, Lucy the Weirdo – oomph!" She bumped into a table, hobbling away, slightly winded. "I'm just…going to go." And then she darted out of the guild without looking back.

Natsu silently watched the whole scene unfold, bewildered at Lucy's unexpected, peculiar behavior, or at least her "more than usual weirdness" as he had been appropriately calling it. These instances seemed to becoming more common he idly noted.

And then he heard it, the small, but oddly loud, voice. "You liiiiike her."

"Happy!" Natsu shouted angrily.

The following morning, Lucy headed to the train station alone, her single pack of luggage slung over her thin shoulders. Natsu and Happy had surprisingly not been there.

She huffed, irritated with her torn feelings. She put a hand to her forehead, grumbling nonsense to herself.

When she had noticed these strange sensations, she was aware that reversing their effects would not be a simple manner of telling herself "no." She was not sure just how or when these feelings began to solidify, becoming imperceptible while plainly apparent. She had strayed too far off the path a long time before she was more acutely aware of their true meaning.

The heated skin, the sweaty palms, the twisted stomach, the palpitations, shortness of breath. She initially thought she was coming down with some sort of illness. She was about ready to go to the doctor until she realized one crucial commonality with all those symptoms: Natsu. He was present, in body or thought, and she would suddenly be struck with these sensations.

It was not a common cold or the most recent strand of the flu, it was a much more severe affliction to be struck with, especially when your best friend was the main trigger – it was a crush.

Jeopardizing her friendship with Natsu was too risky so she would resist with every ounce of stubborn will she had in her. And she was overflowing with it.

Rounding the final corner to the train station, she saw Natsu and Happy waiting for her. His arms were crossed over his chest, a concentrated look sharpening the lines on his face.

"Lucy!" Happy shouted, flying over and hovering in front of her. Natsu realized she was there, smiling as he walked up to her.

"Good morning, Happy, Natsu."

"Ready to go?"

She nodded, eager to get on the road.

They entered the train car and found their seats.

"How far away is Astilbe anyway?" Natsu asked, already looking flushed.

"I think it's about five hours away by train and then it will be another couple hours by foot." She watched him carefully. "Are you already feeling sick?"

He nodded slowly, the mere thought of a five-hour train ride nauseating him further.

Suddenly, the low whistle announcing their departure rung in her ears and the train began to pitch forward as they headed for Astilbe. It was an instantaneous response to the movement of the large vehicle; Natsu turned a sickly green and lurched forward, groaning miserably as the motion sickness won the battle against his obstinacy.

It still fascinated her that someone as strong as Natsu could so easily be defeated by something as seemingly trivial as motion sickness.

She grimaced as a guttural hiccup sounded in the small space between them. "Please don't throw up on me."

The three were relatively quiet for the first hour of the ride, with the exception of Natsu's groans of displeasure and nausea. Lucy read a novel, Happy snacked on a fish next to her and Natsu whimpered helplessly from the bench he was sprawled across.

"Lu…cy…" Natsu moaned, clutching desperately to his consciousness. "Help…me…"

She rolled her eyes as she closed her book and gave him an incredulous look. Help him how? She was not Wendy; casting Troia was not on her list of magical capabilities. She was ill equipped to be of any aid to him in this situation.

Hesitantly, she set her book aside and stood up.

Happy looked up at her, ears perked and wonder scrunching his nose. "Lucy, what are you doing?"

Ignoring the blue cat, she nudged into the bench with the dragon slayer, gingerly moving his head into her lap. He groaned but it sounded less pained than they had in the previous hour.

She was stiff for a short while, tensed and awkward in the new position and unsure of what to do next. Her hands hovered above his body, tentative as to where they should go in this foreign position.

With a decisive huff, she rested a hand on his back and she allowed the other to tangle in his salmon locks. She began to draw small circles on his scalp, hoping the motion was soothing to him. It was seconds before he sighed, the noise being as close to content as his body would presently allow.

She paused as he shifted his head, turning his nose into her stomach and breathing deeply. "Lucy…" He muttered before falling asleep. She observed in mute fascination, amazed at the effect the simple massage had on him and then she smiled.

Lucy watched the scenery from her window as she continued her ministration while Natsu and Happy slept. She found herself growing more relaxed as she sat there with Natsu asleep on her lap. Their position became calming for her and she rested her head on wall, closing her eyes and quickly drifting off to sleep.

Note: So, this chapter went a little different than originally planned but that's okay. I'm happy with the way it turned out. At first I wasn't planning on letting these little slips from Natsu, where he's starting to recognize these (presently) strange feelings but I think it will all match up when the time comes. I hope you're all good with the way Lucy is handling these (presently) pestering feelings. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll be back soon!