The driver parked the car in front of the apartment building. Natsu opened the passenger door before the driver could get out of his seat. Lucy slid across the seat and exited the car, following after Natsu.
"Have a goodnight Richard," Natsu said waving the driver away. Richard tipped his hat, before climbing back into the car and driving away. Lucy stared at Natsu, confusion on her face.
"Why did you send him away? Don't you need him to take you to a hotel?" She asked, looking at the direction Richard had driven. Now it was Natsu's turn to be confused.
"Why would I need him to do that?" He asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking to the building. Lucy followed after him into the first floor lobby. He had pressed the button, calling for the elevator. It chimed its arrival and he stepped in. Lucy just stood there watching him, even more confused than ever. The doors started to close shut, put Natsu held them apart with his hand, leaning out of the elevator to talk to her.
"Aren't you coming up?" he asked.
"Yeah, but why are you?"
"To go to sleep," He answered shaking his head. "This jet lag is no joke. I'm running on empty at the moment," He admitted. When Lucy still didn't move, he sighed heavily as he reached out of the elevator grabbing her wrist and pulling her in after him. The doors slid shut after she entered.
"Wait. Wait I never said you could stay here?" Her mind started running wild with the thought of them alone for the whole night.
"You said if I wasn't a stranger you wouldn't mind. And as of 20 minutes ago, I'm no longer considered a stranger by you," He smirked as he reminded her.
"Y-You tricked me," She protested.
"Your words not mine," He grinned.
"This is not happening," Lucy demanded as she walked towards the elevator buttons to open the doors.
"Why are you so against me staying here?" He asked stuffing his hands back into his pockets. She turned around, and he stared at her. The smirk of his was gone and his playful tone turned serious. "Do you not like me that much?"
"No. No it's not that. It's just that…" What could she say? She wasn't about to admit that her nerves had been on end all night because of him. Or that she couldn't calm down around him. She wasn't going to tell him that her heart beats faster every time he stares at her. She definitely wasn't going to tell him how her writer's imagination was running away at lightning speed at the thought of them alone together.
"It's nothing," She finally finished. "You can stay as long as you promise not to start any funny business," She declared pointing at him. As quick as his serious tone had arrived, it vanished instantly. Natsu narrowed his eyes seductively and his smirk returned.
"Oh," He said, arching his eyebrow. "You're going to have to be a little more thorough than that." He stepped towards her, causing Lucy to back into the closed doors of the elevator. Natsu leaned towards her, staring predatorily into her eyes. He never removed his gaze as he pressed the top floor button, ascending the elevator. He placed his hands against the elevator doors, slightly above Lucy's head, caging her.
"What type of "funny business" do you mean exactly," He asked, clearly feigning ignorance. Her eyes widen at his closeness. His pink hair brushed against her forehead; she could feel his warm breath against her skin, causing her goose bumps.
"You know what I mean," She managed to get out, concentrating on reminding herself to breathe.
"I really don't," He teased, leaning a little closer. "Define it for me."
"Li-like-Like th-this," She stammered, closing her eyes against his intensity. She felt like she was on fire and turning red all over. She was blushing furiously, her heart was beating faster than it had all night. Lucy didn't think she could take much more of this. He chuckled as he leaned away and removed his hands, stuffing them back into his pockets.
"Fine, I promise not to start any funny business," He exaggerated his last two words, smirking at her reaction. The elevator chimed depositing them onto the top floor. She nearly fell out of the elevator when the doors quickly slid open. Natsu was quick to react, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. After his last stunt, Lucy's heart wasn't prepared for the sudden closeness again. Her body instinctively clung to him, leaning against his sturdy exterior. Lucy's eyes widen in shock, both from the fall and the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. Natsu looked down at her, smiling.
"Caught yah," He said softly. His words instantly took her back to the first time he had said those words to her. She was pushed by the desperate wannabe brides and it was his arms that stopped her fall. She had that thought then that she wanted those words to have another meaning. Hearing him say those words again, her heart fluttered a little as she stared into his onyx eyes, searching for a promise not yet spoken.
"Lucy!"
Looking over her shoulder, Lucy spied Gray standing up from his post against the front door. His eyes were wide, taking in the sight of her in Natsu's arms.
"Gray," She said confused as to why he was waiting outside Levy's and Gajeel's apartment. She tried stepping towards him, but Natsu held her back. Looking back at Natsu, she could see he was grimacing at the sight of Gray. He held her for a second longer, before reluctantly letting her go. She walked towards Gray about to ask him what he was doing there, but her friend pulled her against his chest, hugging her tightly.
"Thank goodness you're alright," He murmured, holding her tighter.
"Gray I'm fine," She assured him, confused why he was acting so strangely.
"I tried calling your phone all night, but you never answered. I went to your apartment, but you weren't there. I tried to see if you were still at work, but your offices were all closed. I called Levy but she didn't answer either. I finally got a hold of Virgo and she told me that you were watching Lily this weekend. I came here, but you didn't answer. I went to the police but they said I couldn't file a missing person's report until you were missing for 24 hrs. I came back here to wait and see if you would return before returning to them in the morning." Gray held her away, so he could look her over to make sure she was still intact. Lucy could see the worry and stress in his eyes and all the fire she had felt when she was with Natsu instantly cooled after seeing her friend so upset.
My phone. Of course. Lucy remembered. Natsu had turned it off and taken it in order for her to go out with him. The event of the night had mesmerized her. She had forgotten that she had only went out with him in order to get her phone back to call Gray in the first place. She had been so swept up in everything, she felt awful about all the worry she had caused her friend.
"I'm sorry Gray," Lucy began. "I-"
"You're too close," Natsu pulled Lucy out of Gray's embrace, causing Gray to stumble backward.
"Natsu!" Lucy yelled as he pushed her behind him.
"I thought I knew that other voice," Gray narrowed his eyes, glaring at Natsu. "You're the one who kidnapped Lucy."
Natsu scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rolling his eyes. "Unlike you I don't have to kidnap girls to get them to go out with me princess."
"What are you calling me flame brain?" Gray growled, stepping towards Natsu.
"You heard me princess. You're acting like you own her," Natsu shot back. The two started bickering back and forth, edging closer to one another. Lucy was afraid that they would start throwing punches when they tired of insults. The looked like children bickering on a playground. It had been a long and stressful week, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was listen to the two of them argue over nothing.
"Enough!" She shouted, stepping between the pair, glaring at the both of them. Turning to Natsu first, she gave him a hard glance before she continued. "Natsu, my phone." She demanded, a hand on her hip as she held out her other, waiting for him to give her back her phone. He stared at her, as he reached into her pocket and returned her phone. Quickly, she powered on the device. When it came to life, it immediately flashed with all the notifications it had stored. She had about 45 missed calls, and 27 text messages all from Gray. There were a couple from Virgo all wondering where she was. The way Natsu had spoken to Gray over the phone was a little misleading, and she felt bad for causing her friend to worry. But now that it was cleared up and he knew she was alright, it just needed to be let go. Turning to Gray her expression softened a little.
"Gray I appreciate you worrying about me. I know what you heard over the phone was a little puzzling, but I'm fine. Well, besides from being tired, I'm okay. I should have called you sooner to clear things up, and for that I'm sorry. Natsu didn't kidnap me; I went with him willingly," She explained.
"Really," Gray's expression was in disbelief. He looked from Lucy to Natsu, clearly not believing that was the case. Natsu didn't respond, but Lucy could feel his smug attitude rolling off of him.
"Yes," She admitted. "But now all I want to do is sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow and we can catch up. It really has been too long. I've missed you" She smiled. It was the truth. She missed hanging out with her best friend. When she smiled, the last of Gray's tension eased out of his shoulders. He returned her smile, with a soft smile of his own.
"I've missed you too," he sighed shaking his head slightly " I'll go then so you can rest. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll plan something," He gave her a hug, holding her a little longer than normal. He let her go and started walking back to the elevator before turning around again. "Hey aren't you coming? She's tired of you so I'll help you see yourself out."
Natsu turned his smirk towards Gray as he pulled out a pair of keys. "Oh you didn't know?" Natsu voice was laced with mocked surprise as he unlocked the front door to the apartment. "I'm staying here too." He leaned against the door frame, spinning the keys on one of his fingers. "I trust you can see yourself out without my help."
Gray's eyes widened in shock, furrowing as he looked to Lucy for confirmation. She nodded and gave him a half-hearted shrug. This wasn't her home, and he technically had permission from Levy and Gajeel. Plus, he had gotten her permission as well. Though now Lucy was questioning herself if that had been a wise decision.
"You can't be okay with this," Gray questioned taking a step back towards Lucy.
"Its fine Gray," Lucy assured him. "It's just for a couple nights. He's sleeping on the couch anyways." She heard Natsu make a noise of protest, but she ignored him. "Goodnight I'll talk to you tomorrow.' Lucy made a move to enter the apartment, but Gray grabbed her wrist.
"I don't feel comfortable with this," He demanded. "I don't trust him."
"But you should trust me," She said, a little annoyed with his sudden persistence. "I'm very tired, so can we-"
Gray's grip on her wrist disappeared, replaced by the feeling of strong arms picking her up. "You heard her. Go home princess," Natsu spoke as he carried a very surprised Lucy into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. Without putting her down, he locked the door. The apartment was dark, but Natsu moved effortlessly around the unseen obstacles. It wasn't until she realized he was heading toward the guest bedroom that she got over the initial shock of his action.
"P-P-Put me down," She squirmed in his arms, but he only held on tighter.
"Stop squirming so much or I'll drop you," Natsu protested, pushing open the bedroom door.
"That's the point!"
"Fine," He agreed gruffly as he dropped her over the bed. She sat up quickly, fixing her dress as she climbed off the bed.
"Why did you do that?" She snapped.
Natsu shrugged as he walked over to his bag, pulling articles of clothing out. "You said you wanted down."
"Not that!" She threw her hands up exasperated by the situation. "Gray's going to get the wrong idea again."
"I just brought you inside. You said you were tired," Natsu reasoned.
"Do you realize how that looked?"
When Natsu just smirked, making Lucy sigh loudly. "Ugh, I'm too tired for this. I'm going to bed."
He shrugged again, kicking off his shoes. Natsu grabbed the hem of his shirt and stripped it off in one fluid motion tossing it by his shoes. Lucy eyes widened at the sudden exposure of his toned chest. Her fingers twitched, aching with a sudden desire to trace his muscles.
"Wait. What are you doing?" Lucy snapped out of her delusion, turning away to hide her blush.
Natsu blinked clearly confused by her question. "I need to take a quick shower before bed." He padded to the bathroom, but Lucy dashed in front of him, blocking his path.
"Y-You can't do that now!" She protested. Natsu arched an eyebrow as he crossed his arms, making his muscles flex.
"Why not?" He asked. "You used it earlier."
"Yes but-"
"So what's the big deal?" Natsu said taking a step closer.
"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm going to bed."
"And I'm going to take a shower," he responded. "The rooms are pretty sound proof so you shouldn't hear anything. I won't take long." Natsu moved passed Lucy and into the bathroom, pulling back the shower curtain.
"Natsu you promised you wouldn't do any "funny business" remember?"
He looked back at her perplexed. "How is taking a shower considered funny business?"
Lucy's imagination was running away again. Especially since she was so tired. She urged herself to calm down, but the thought of merely a door separating her from a naked Natsu was slightly driving her imagination into the more erotic areas of her mind. Her blush deepened coming up with multiple answers to his questions, but none she would ever voice aloud.
"Make it quick!" She finally answered, slamming the door behind her. Why am I overreacting? She questioned herself. Walking to her overnight bag, Lucy quickly changed back into her pajamas before Natsu could come back out again. She thought back to the elevator, and that look in his eyes. She felt like she was going to melt under his gaze. His eyes had a way of pulling her in, holding a story that she wanted to read. And that smirk! He always had that infuriating smirk on his face. It made her want to kiss that stupid smug look off his face.
Lucy gasped at that thought. Did I really just think about kissing him? No. No. No. You're just getting carried away like you normally do. It's just your overactive imagination producing weird thoughts because you're working on publishing a romance novel at the moment. It's not like you're attracted to that pink haired idiot. He's just teasing you to get a reaction.
"That's it. Yeah. Totally." Lucy walked over to Levy's bookshelf and selected a book at random. "I need a new genre to shift gears," She reasoned out loud. Flipping through the pages of the book, Lucy realized the book she selected was all in another language. "Well who cares if I can't read it. Anything is better than romance at the moment." She climbed into bed, to "read" the book in hopes of calming her mind into more appropriate thoughts. Snuggling under the covers, Lily appeared, jumping into bed with Lucy. The brown cat purred as he curled up next to Lucy, relaxing into sleep. Lucy flipped through the pages, looking at how the words formed. The lines and loops, holding a story she couldn't understand. Her eyes were getting heavy, the soft sounds from Lily were acting like a lullaby, and the long nights of the past week, coupled with tonight's events were weighing down her eyelids. Slowly, she felt her body relax. She tried to fight it. How could she possibly sleep with Natsu still in the bathroom? She was going to wait until he left, so she could lock the door. But everything was so comfortable, and she was extremely tired. Her eyes fluttered open once. Twice. And then closed, as she drifted off to sleep.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the room in soft white light. Lucy opened her eyes, squinting against the day. She closed her eyes quickly, turning away from the window as she snuggled more into the covers. Saturday was typically her day to catch up on sleep. There was a few work items that needed her attention, but she usually held off until late into the afternoon to even think about being productive. Saturday mornings were for continued dreams and comfy pillows and snuggles. Her arms found a pillow, pulling it closer to her as she fidgeted to get comfortable again. The scent coming from the pillow was familiar. Nuzzling her nose against it, she breathed in deep to try and remember where she smelled it before. It was a warm light smell that made her imagine summer days. If sunlight had a scent, she imagined it would smell like this. It relaxed her, calming her back to sleep. She pulled it tighter against her, wanting to be enveloped by it.
The pillow suddenly shifted under her grasp. Her brain started processing that there was something different about this pillow. It was shaped differently than she remembered. Her fingers traced over the pillow, forming in her mind its shape. It resembled a broad chest, with chiseled features. It even moved like it was breathing. Her head was pressed behind it, and she could make out a rhythmic sound coming from it. That's strange, Lucy thought. Since when does a pillow- She froze unable to finish that thought. Her eyes peaked open, hoping that she might still be dreaming as she lifted her head.
It wasn't a pillow that she was snuggling, but a sleeping pink haired man. She noticed her arms were wrapped tightly around him, her fingers had traced his bare chest. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she realized she had been literally smelling him earlier. No wonder the scent had smelled so familiar. She was wide awake now, successfully removing one of her arms from around him. She was working on removing the other, but it was underneath him. It was a little more difficult to move it while trying not to wake him up.
Why are you even sleeping here? She grumbled to herself as she tried to free her arm. Natsu shifted, allowing her to pull her arm from underneath him. Victory cries sounded in her mind. She turned over to get out of bed, but a strong arm wrapped around her waist caging her there. Looking to the left, Natsu's sleeping face was now inches from hers. Her eyes widened at his closeness and she could feel her face turning another shade redder. Too close. Too close. Too close. She chanted hoping that her will would somehow save her from this predicament. Instead, Natsu's arm tightened around her more. Lucy squirmed a little, but he shifted so that her back was pressed against his chest. His warm breath tickled the back of her neck, sending goose bumps down her arms. Lucy reached with her free arm, grabbing a real pillow. Gripping it tight, she brought it down hard on Natsu's head.
"Ouch!" Natsu released Lucy from around her waist, sitting up as he rubbed his head. Lucy scrambled off the bed, clutching the pillow against her chest. Lily sprang up from somewhere underneath the covers, darting out of the room. Natsu turned towards her, still rubbing the spot where she had hit him.
"What did you do that for?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.
"You broke your promise," She protested.
"I told you," He stared at her hard, obviously offended. "I always keep my promises."
"Well how does sleeping in the same bed as me and attacking me keep your promise? That's clearly in violation of the no funny business agreement."
Natsu arched an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. She was annoyed at him for laughing at her and slightly more annoyed at herself for liking the way it sounded.
"I promised I wouldn't start any funny business," He managed. "Yet, I didn't say I wouldn't finish any."
Lucy's eye twitched. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh it seems you don't remember?"
"Remember what?" She had a sinking feeling as she waited for him to continue she wasn't going to like what he had to say. What happened last night? I only had two glasses of wine. Surely I can handle two glasses? I wasn't drunk and even if I was I wouldn't have …with him….
"Well when I got out of the shower, I noticed you fell asleep reading a book. I went to grab the book from you, but you grabbed onto my hand and wouldn't let go. You're surprisingly strong," He chuckled, giving her a toothy grin. "Then you kept murmuring in your sleep "Don't go." You kept repeating that until I promised I would stay with you. And you know me. I always keep my promises." His toothy grin changed into his usual smirk, as he added. "You're such a snuggler too."
"What?!" She screeched. "You're lying! I wouldn't…I didn't…not with you." She searched her memories, trying to remember anything after reading that book. She had been so tired and stressed out, her mind shut off almost instantly. The wine hadn't helped either. It made her more relaxed than usual. She couldn't remember anything.
When Levy and her had sleep overs, Levy would laugh at her calling her a "snuggle monster." It was just how Lucy slept. Her embarrassment levels were skyrocketing this morning, realizing that Natsu might be telling her the truth.
"Why would I lie about that? It was one of the best sleeps I've had in a while. I didn't even mind when you started smelling me."
Oh. My. God. Lucy thought. "You were awake this whole time?!"
"I thought it was cute. I thought you might get embarrassed, so I just pretended to-" She flung the pillow at him and hitting him square in his smirking face, cutting off his words before she stormed out of the room. Lucy was mortified. Of all people in the world for her to do that to, it just had to be him. Lily rubbed up against her legs, meowing loudly.
"Oh, right. Breakfast," Lucy translated as she bent down to pet the cat, focusing on something other than what had just happened. She straightened up and headed into the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. Levy kept Lily's food in the back of the pantry. She grabbed a can of cat food from the back shelf, peeling back the lid. Lily's bowl was in a corner of the kitchen and she deposited the can's contents into it. Throwing away the empty can, Lucy opened the fridge to locate some milk. She grabbed the milk and poured some for Lily in his second bowl. Lily stood by his food and looked up at her, his tail twitching expectantly.
"What? Its breakfast," Lucy placed the milk back into the fridge.
"You're forgetting the avocado," Natsu appeared, reaching opening the fridge again, plucking an avocado from the side drawer. "He doesn't eat his food unless there's some avocado in it," Natsu explained as he grabbed a spoon and spooned avocado into Lily's dish. Once the avocado was mixed in, Lily ran up to his food and started to scarf it down.
"I forgot about that," Lucy admitted. "That's so weird."
"Well Wendy's cat Carla only drinks Darjeeling tea," Natsu stated.
"You're kidding."
"It's true. It's like those siblings attract weird cats." He shook his head, before pulling himself up to sit on the counter. "So what do you want for breakfast," He smiled.
"You can cook?" Lucy asked.
"I wouldn't call myself a chef, but I can put something together that won't kill you," He encouraged. "Since I travel to a lot of remote places, you pick up a few things here and there in order to survive. Also, this is kinda of an apology for this morning. I didn't mean to-"
"Let me stop you right there," she held a hand up cutting him off. "1. We're adding this to the list of things that you need to forget. 2. If you're going to cook, then put on a shirt," Lucy chided. His exposed chest and arms were driving her crazy. He broke into another toothy grin as he nodded. Natsu jumped down and padded back to the guest bedroom. It was then that she finally noticed the design of his tattoo on his shoulder. It was a broken black 'V" framing two black crossed keys. It was an odd symbol, but Natsu disappeared down the hallway before she could look at it more. He came back wearing a light blue t-shirt that matched the streak running down his black pajama pants. The shock of color took Lucy by surprised. She had only seen him in black. It went well with his olive complexion.
"Alright time for breakfast," Natsu cheered as he opened the fridge to take stock of what he had to work with. He pulled out some ingredients, placing them on the counter. He opened the cupboards, expertly moving as he grabbed more ingredients and a large pan. "How does Natsu's World Famous Chocolate Chip Pancakes sound?"
"World famous?" She giggled.
"Fine. They're an undiscovered delicacy," He brushed her questioning tone aside. "Soon to be world famous." He started prepping for his dish, cracking eggs and adding flour into a large bowl.
"Natsu's Undiscovered Wannabe World Famous Chocolate Chip Pancakes, sound great. I'll make coffee," She laughed as he rolled his eyes at her. She grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and the tin of coffee beans. She scooped some into the coffee grinder Levy had and started the machine. In seconds the coffee beans were ground to a nice consistency. Lucy dumped the container into a filter she already placed into the coffee machine. She turned on the faucet to fill up the water storage. Once it was filled, she situated it back into the machine before turning it on. It a few minutes, the smell of deliciously brewed coffee was filling the air. Lucy breathed deep, loving the aroma.
"How do you take your coffee?" Lucy asked Natsu. He was already pouring the batter he created into a pan.
"Black is fine," He replied.
Of course, Lucy thought as she smiled and poured coffee into both of their mugs. Lucy liked hers with two sugars and French vanilla creamer. She found it in the fridge and stirred the creamer into the coffee.
"Coffee's done," She said as she set the two mugs on the table. She grabbed two forks, two butter knives, two plates, and two napkins as she set the table. The fact that she had to get two of everything made her happier than she expected. Lucy normally ate all her meals alone. Besides lunch meetings and the occasional meals with Levy, or Levy and Gajeel or Gray, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were usually lonely affairs. Even though he completely embarrassed her this morning, and irritated her last night with Gray, Natsu being here was not as bad as she thought it would be.
Inside the fridge, Lucy grabbed the butter and found some berries. She gave them a quick rinse before, pouring some strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries into two bowls to compliment the chocolate chip pancakes. She set them on the table in time for Natsu to walk over with a plate stacked high with delicious looking chocolate chip pancakes and a container of maple syrup.
"That's a lot of pancakes," She committed as he set the syrup and pancake tower in the center of the table.
"Oh you wanted some too?" He joked. He reached out and took her plate, placing three pancakes on it for her. He placed six on his. Lucy just laughed as they sat down. Lucy noticed Natsu was staring at her as she drizzled the syrup onto her pancakes and cut into them.
"What?" She said, holding the bite she was about to take in midair.
"I wanted to watch your reaction," he said, leaning forward in his seat. He's like a kid, Lucy thought. She placed the bite of pancakes in her mouth, instantly smiling.
"Delicious," She moaned as she cut into her pancakes again. Natsu gave her a brilliant smile as he cut into his own stack.
"Told you," He said attacking his pancakes. "World famous!"
The two of them eased into a cheerful conversation as they enjoyed their breakfast. Natsu told Lucy about all the interesting food he had tried while travelling. His cooking stories included a lot of fire mishaps, and burnt meals that made Lucy laugh loudly. It had been a long while since Lucy could remember feeling like this. It was Saturday morning and there wasn't an insufferable silence hanging around her. Instead there was Natsu's voice, her laughter, and the soft purrs of Lily at her feet filling the space. She wanted more mornings like this. More mornings with laughter and coffee and self-proclaimed "world famous" chocolate chip pancakes.