"Can you at least try to hit me, Ice Queen?!"
After the day Natsu had, the only thing that made him feel better was sparring for a couple rounds with Gray. It had been that way since they were children, since right after Natsu had been adopted. They'd originally met in grade school but couldn't stand the sight of one another. Igneel enrolled Natsu in Tae Kwon Do after getting into too many fights at school (most of them with the raven-haired tyke) but as luck would have it, Gray happened to be in the same class. They used each other as fuel to progress ever since. In their later years, their sparring was usually reserved for days like Natsu's, where it felt like nothing had gone right and they needed to feel in control of something.
Gray's fist made contact with Natsu's chest causing the pinket to grunt loudly. "You mean something like that?" he teased, a cocky grin making its way to his lips. He knew Natsu had to be really wound up because usually his best friend didn't just leave himself open to attack like that. They'd already been going at it for a couple hours, drawing in crowds of brothers randomly and even welcoming bets, but Gray had no idea how much longer he could keep up with Natsu's fury. "Why can't you just talk about it like normal people, Fire Freak? It's like every time you get a boo-boo, I have to walk around with bruised ribs for weeks."
It wasn't long after that top of Natsu's foot slammed into that same area, making Gray wheeze as he tried to breathe in deeply. Natsu's breathing was also labored, his chest heaving from the physical exhaustion that was slowly taking over his body. The audience had faded, leaving the two of them, and they both dropped to the ground in a draw.
"Shut it, stripper," Natsu barked, dropping his forehead down to his raised knees. The day had started off so nicely, waking up from an all-nighter with Starfire. Flirting with her had made him feel amazing, not to mention she was starting to really open up to him. Then he'd gotten to workout before class in the house gym (a room on the second floor set up with random borderline dilapidated equipment). TA'ing Makarov's Chem class had proven to be the start of his downfall.
Why'd Lucy have to sit so damn close to the front? He'd barely been able to focus on the actual lesson, mostly keeping his steely gaze locked on her golden hair. For a moment she'd stared right back at him and he couldn't lie about loving the embarrassed flush of her cheeks.
But if anything was cuter it had to be the look she got on her face when she was confused. Throughout the entire class period, Natsu had to hold back laughter at Lucy's panicked looks between her friend's notebook and her own. As Makarov was running through a formula on the board, he watched as the blonde gnawed on the corner of her lips and it sparked an idea. He tutored every semester, right? What if he had a group session like the other TA's instead of just individual sessions? He could post about it and let her come on her own for help.
After class he'd gone to his seminars, as usual, avoiding the Queen Bitch as he normally did. While Sting still bothered him from time to time, the pinket still felt like the blond Sabertooth brother could do with a way better social circle. His classes had dragged on forever with him checking his laptop every two minutes for a message from Starfire. He'd already e-mailed her asking about her day but hadn't heard back yet. Natsu found himself yearning to talk to her for a majority of the day. Could you really miss someone you had yet to meet or even see?
Before making his way back to Fairy Tail, Natsu ran into the worst possible problem. Lisanna. Luckily for him, she'd been without her Bickslow puppy. She'd stopped him in the middle of the sidewalk outside Dreyar Hall and threw her arms around him like nothing had ever changed between them. Her fingers stroked his forearms gently as they spoke, her insisting on interrogating him for the sake of "catching up". They fell into a familiar rhythm and it was almost like she had never driven him to the point of ending their relationship. It was like he could forget reading those texts on her phone…
Luckily Natsu had been able to escape her clutches rather quickly after mental pictures of a certain blonde helped break the trance over him. His pain and confusion led him to march straight into Gray's room back at the house and challenge him to a sparring match just like custom called for. His best friend didn't even have to ask, able to read Natsu's eyes in order to find his answer. After a few hours, they were both sitting on the grass outside the frat house and Natsu felt like he could take on anything or anyone. A shared fist bump was the sign of silent thanks before they both went back inside to shower off.
As the water ran down his toned frame, Natsu's mind wandered. Probably what he missed most about having a girlfriend was the company. He missed the feeling of fingers carding through his salmon hair, nails raking down his back in ecstasy (or at least he hoped so). Gods how he longed to kiss a girl stupid again. There had been women that couldn't even speak right after a proper make-out session with "The Salamander". He loved turning girls to putty in his calloused hands. His thoughts were interrupted by Gray's departure from the shower room and the fraternity star found himself incredibly conflicted. Ultimately he surrendered to his more basic needs and took himself in hand, stroking softly at first. He mentally replayed his previous conquests as he worked himself up, using each one to push him further and further over the edge. After going without for a few weeks it didn't take him long to find himself on the brink of release but was surprised by what finally did it. After remembering what it was like to fuck Cana in the downstairs closet at a Grab-a-Date party during his undergrad years, Natsu's mind gravitated toward the image of a blonde bombshell wrapped up in black and red lace lingerie, warm brown eyes staring down his soul. What he wouldn't have given to know what she felt, smelt, tasted like, in that moment. It didn't take him long to finish, cleaning up shamefully before returning to his room.
Laying on his twin XL bed, towel still wrapped around his hips, Natsu mentally chastised himself for what he'd done. He had no right to think about Lucy that way. For the life of him, he couldn't even understand why he cared. In all honesty, he barely knew the girl. Every time he saw her, his mind flashed back to the night he met her for the first time. She'd walked into the room with the brightest brown eyes full of adoration, vulnerable as all Hell, and he'd completely torn her down. It wasn't entirely his fault. After his conversations with Minerva, Lucy was the last girl he was expecting to meet in Lisanna's room that night. Granted he probably could have handled the situation a bit better but after the alcohol and confusion, the grad student had been worse for wear.
And yet after all that, he still had the nerve to jack off to the mere thought of her? Natsu's stomach twisted harshly with guilt. He shook his head, as if trying to dislodge the current thoughts, and quickly shifted gears when he heard his phone alert him to a new e-mail waiting for him. Reaching over to his bedside table, he grinned when he saw that it was from his new favorite online encounter.
To: DragonSlayer666
From: CelestialBeauty42
Subj: LONG ass day
Today has seemed never ending. Tell me it's ending soon?
-Starfire
Natsu smiled at the words on his screen. Something inside him warmed at the thought that she'd rather talk to him at the end of a rough day. It became his personal mission to make her smile too.
To: CelestialBeauty42
From: DragonSlayer666
Subj: RE: LONG ass day...almost over!
^^^ As you can see, it is indeed almost over. Got any plans to make the night better? I can come up with a few if you'd like ;)
-Dragon
Pride swelled in Natsu's chest at his bold reply. While everyone thought that he had so much game, and he had been able to hook up with a few notable chicks in his tenure at Magnolia College, he still felt like he was bound to strike out at any minute. Starfire's reply helped make him feel slightly better.
To: DragonSlayer666
From: CelestialBeauty42
Subj: RE: LONG ass day...THANKFULLY almost over!
Thank you. :) And no actually. Unless 'planning to talk to you' counts?
-Starfire xx
Throwing his fists in the air triumphantly, Natsu grinned wildly. He won! At least it felt like it. Little did he know that winning would lead to yet another sleepless night spent chatting with his cyber dream girl.
Hey y'all! Mari here! Thank you all for keeping up with CSIAS! I'm finally starting to get my Tumblr up and running for this story and for others that are drifting around in my head.
I wanted to take a minute to explain something from my end. Many of you have commented about how the two of them don't fit the whole College feel and I completely agree, to an extent. To me, the relationship between Natsu and Lucy, no matter what is going on around them, has always been very adolescent and innocent. I wanted to try to keep that and portray that in my story. I mean Hey, they're two of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards but they still bicker and the rest. Sorry if it devolved their characters in any way folks!
Glad to see you're enjoying the story, silver light of dawn. Trust me, that part is coming. Soon.
Welcome back, GoPackGo97! Don't you just love flustered/flirting Nalu? I sure do! ;)
Digiko12, Welcome to the tale! Hope you stuck around and are enjoying the story!
How do you feel about this POV chapter, Zerophelia? :D
Juvia is my spirit animal, Thank you very much for your insight! And I'm glad to see that your friend's recommendation wasn't wasted! Hope you're enjoying the rest of the story too. (PS: I'm tinkering with a badass!Lucy story, but I'm trying to figure out how to do it wihout completely changing her haha)
Let me know what y'all think! See you in a few days! xx
EDIT 6/9/17: So I've got the Tumblr up. The link is clickable in my profile! Please check it out and let me know what you think.