Chapter Ten – Close Contact

"Was it really necessary to leave a note?"

Natsu looked up at Lucy, whom was on the bed reading when he got back from the café down the street. He smiled and closed the door behind him with his foot, his hands occupied with their breakfast. "What did you want me to do?" he asked. "Walk in the bathroom while you were taking a shower? Well, excuse me if I didn't want a good kick in the head." Lucy held up a hand.

"Put a cap on the attitude, Natsu," she teased. "It was just a simple question. There was no need to get your panties in a twist." The dragon slayer scoffed as he set their food down on the table.

"'There was no need to get your panties in a twist,'" he mocked, walking over to her. Lucy giggled.

"You're terrible at impressions."

"Shut up." He reached down and poked her in the stomach. She jumped and squeaked, raising her hand to the spot he touched. Natsu froze, an evil grin on his face. He poked her again. He squeaked again and giggled, moving away from him. He chuckled and reached out for another poke, but she quickly rolled to the side and scrambled off the bed. She made a move to run passed him, but he was already in front of her. The two of them danced around the bed, Natsu blocking each of her attempts to escape him. He jumped onto the mattress to head straight toward her, but she was already making her leave. Before she could get away, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto the mattress. She screamed in protest as he hooked his arm around her waist and dragged her further up on the bed. He set her down and pinned her to the sheets.

"Natsu, stop!" she yelled, laughing as she tried to move his hands away from her waist. Natsu laughed at her futile actions and continued to tickle her. Lucy was laughing uncontrollably and thrashed beneath him, trying desperately to get free. She squealed his name and begged for him to stop. She bucked her hips in attempt to lift him off her, but it hardly did anything. He only stopped when she began to cough. He halted his movements to let her breathe. She continued to giggle, despite the scratchy feeling in her throat. Natsu lifted himself off of her and watched as she struggled to sit up, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. Panting, she glanced at him through the corner of her eye. She swung her hand at him, smacking him across the chest. "You're a jerk," she insulted, breathless. Natsu smiled and made his way to their breakfast on the table.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Our food is getting cold."

"That's why…you're here." Natsu grinned at her over his shoulder as he emptied the contents of the two plastic bags onto the table. After a moment, he didn't sense her approaching. In fact, he didn't hear her move at all. He turned to face her. Her arms were cradling her stomach, and she was staring at her lap.

"Luce?" She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

"Yeah?"

Natsu gestured to the food on the table. "You eating or what?" Lucy smiled and pushed herself off the bed.

"Of course." She sat down in the chair beside him, and after a few seconds, he sat as well. Their meal was silent, neither one of them having anything to say. But both wizards felt awkward not saying anything. Natsu had begun to tap his foot, and Lucy was twirling a small strand of her hair around her finger. The awkward tension became too much for either of them to bear. "Natsu?" said Lucy, turning to face him.

"Hey, Luce?" he said at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment.

"You go first," they said in unison. There was another moment of awkward eye contact before they both laughed weakly.

"It's weird when that happens," said Lucy, a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah, a little," Natsu agreed. There was an uncomfortable pause between the two guild mates.

"So, um, what were you gonna say?" Lucy asked, looking up at him through her eyelashes. Natsu stared dumbly at her. He didn't know what he was about to say. He was just going to say whatever came to mind. He didn't expect her to try to start a conversation at the exact time he did.

"I, uh… I was just gonna ask you…h-how your food is?" he said slowly. Lucy looked at him and nodded.

"It's good. How's yours?" Natsu nodded, too.

"Good." They stared at each other again, and something caught Natsu's eye. "There's a, um… an eyelash on your cheek." Lucy lifted a hand to wipe it away, but she missed. "Lemme get it." He reached up and gently swiped it off her skin, flicking it off his finger. Lucy blushed at his touch and turned back to her food, taking a bite. The dragon slayer blushed a little as well and cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "What were…you gonna say?" Lucy briefly glanced at him, but refocused her attention on the food in front of her.

"I don't remember," she said quickly. Natsu nodded and tapped his fingers together. This was by far the most awkward he'd felt in his life. And since no one had brought up last night, or when she was practically drooling at his abs, it felt that much worse. Not that he wanted to bring up either event. He just thought it was odd how they didn't…discuss it… and that added to the awkwardness. He breathed in deeply to calm his nerves. Beside him, Lucy gulped. She felt just as weird as he did, if not more. She'd never been so scared to be along with Natsu before. He always made her feel safe, but after what happened last night, she was terrified of being in the same room as him. And him sitting that close to her was making her heart go ballistic. She looked at him as stood up with his plate. He reached over to grabbed the end of hers as well.

"You done?" he asked softly. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. She nodded and swiftly turned away, blushing darkly. Natsu picked up her plastic plate and walked to the trash can, dropping them inside. He spared a glimpse at her over his shoulder before walking to the bed and plopping down. He turned on the Lacrima vision and began to search for a channel that interested him, and Lucy stood up to join him.

Natsu hissed as a sudden itch bit at his skin. He reached up with his free hand to scratch it, and when he sat it back down, it just so happened to land on top of Lucy's. The fire wizard froze instantly and gulped. He slowly looked down at their hands, a light blush crawling onto his cheeks. He chanced a look at Lucy. She was looking down at their hands as well, but her blush was much deeper. Seeming to notice him looking at her, she connected his gaze with hers. Natsu chuckled weakly and moved to slide his hand away. He felt his face darken as Lucy stopping him from moving by lacing their fingers together. He, again, forgot how to breathe when she scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. His heart was thumping so hard against his chest, he wouldn't be surprised if Lucy could hear it. Hell, he was sure she could feel it.

She didn't know what told her to do it, but she complied with no argument. They were holding hands… and she was almost cuddling with him. She began to stroke his hand with her thumb, sending goose bumps up his arm. Relaxing a little, Natsu slumped against the backboard and leaned his head on top of hers. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look anywhere but their intertwined hands. He felt silly. He's held Lucy's hand before. It wasn't new to him. And yet, it felt so…different. It felt…right. He didn't know his heart would beat so fast just by holding hands. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He started a little when he heard his name. "Natsu?"

"Uh, yeah?" Lucy giggled.

"Are you done watching the kids' channel?" Natsu snapped his head up to look at the Lacrima. Sure enough, it was a cartoon for children. He laughed.

"Aw, but I like this show," he said sarcastically. He felt Lucy shake her head.

"I'm so telling Gray you said that." Natsu sat up to glare at her.

"Like hell you are." He angrily changed the channel. Lucy squeezed his hand.

"You're such a child." Natsu grinned and leaned in closer to her.

"Yeah, and you're such a weirdo."

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for how short the last chapter was! I feel like a failure! Anyway, to all of you who thanked me for that image of Natsu, you are so very welcome! My inner fangirl was screaming, too. I hope this cute chapter made up for the last one's disappointment. We're getting close to the end, so be prepared! I love you guys. :3