Author's Note: We're back, baby! It's been a while, so I shall not bore you with my life story. I'm incredibly grateful for how understanding you've all been about my slow updating habits. Thank you all for such wonderful feedback!
I'm planning a one-shot interlude for this story that will be about Natsu carrying out his side of the bargain for losing in chapter 7. It, however, will be Gray x Juvia (Gruvia?) with a touch of NaLu and will mostly be for comic relief. If anyone's interested in reading that, I hope to get it on the site before New Years, but no guarantees.
Special shout out to Panda and Lucia because you're both awesome. Special shout out to Litashe for all the love she's given us! :)
Please enjoy!
Possession by HawkofNavarre
Chapter 11 – Close Contact
"You've got to be kidding me," Lucy fumed at the hotel secretary while the male dragon slayer watched in amusement. "I could pay half my monthly rent with the amount you're charging for one measly room!"
"I assure you, Heartphilia-san, that our rooms are the best in the town," the other woman pushed desperately.
"Yeah, 'best' since this is the only hotel in this stupid town!"
"That may be true, but—"
"But what? You expect us to use nearly a quarter of the jewels we made saving your town from a bunch of thieves on a tiny room for one person?"
"Well, you could pay for two—"
"And let you suck more cash out of our pockets? I don't think so!"
Natsu decided that Lucy was sexy when she was fighting for what she believed in. Obviously he didn't want to be a creep, but it was almost impossible to not find your soul mate incredibly attractive—especially when she was flushed with anger in a battle of wits, a glint of pure determination in her eyes. She was always beautiful. Her anger gave a different sort of appeal.
"Natsu, you're staring," Happy notified him, knowing full-well of the situation the rose-haired mage was in.
"I can't help it…" he conceded, and it was the truth. The celestial spirit mage was only getting more and more difficult to not look at. His feelings for her wouldn't stop growing. He rarely found anybody, let alone anything, else on his mind. Thinking about her was normal for him now. He could look at practically anything and somehow relate it to her. His body no longer took orders from him when it came to her. It had been a long road, but he had finally come to terms with it. This feeling wasn't about to go away any time soon.
Besides, being able to humour himself was far more appealing than being pessimistic about this whole thing. There was nothing wrong with admiring her, right? Lucy no longer seemed so tense around him since the spring festival either, so that at least was a plus. He must have done something right, even if he'd only been doing what he felt was.
The only problem was that his dragon instincts were kicking in frequently now. He wasn't sure to what extent his possessiveness had gone yet, simply due to the fact (and sadly, also his relief) that the summoner hadn't been going out with random guys recently. If she had been, Natsu had no doubt that he might've killed somebody already. He'd barely been able to hold himself back from smashing guys in the face who'd been staring at her so-called "assets".
Gajeel had told him it was a natural response. "You haven't properly claimed her, so you'll always want to crush those who are after your woman."
"And you've claimed Levy?" Natsu had asked, never seeing the blunette's two partners getting squashed under the iron dragon slayer's hand.
"Soon enough I will, but right now, she knows exactly where I stand," he'd replied gruffly before he grinned, smacking a fist into his open palm. "I gotta say though, it felt pretty damn good bashing a few heads in. Little bastards…"
Natsu agreed mentally that it would probably feel quite good, but he also knew where Gajeel stood with Levy and why he hadn't yet claimed her. She was obviously willing, even if she was only nineteen, but Gajeel was a very reserved person and it was equally as clear that he wasn't ready to open up to her quite yet. Juvia was the only person he could comfortably speak candidly with and nobody ever knew what they said to each other.
Frankly, the fire-eater didn't really think it was his business anyway. He was more concerned with his own problem at the moment. Gajeel knew where he stood with Levy and that was really all Natsu wanted too. He knew he was pretty dense, but the dragon slayer was certain that Lucy was sending him signals all over the place.
Sometimes his touch seemed like static for her and she would jump away in terror. Other times, she would grab onto his hand, whether it be for reassurance or for no reason at all. He always did his best to respond accordingly, squeezing her hand if she needed support or leaving his fingers limp when she grabbed onto him just because. Either way, it was always a battle to keep control, though so far, he had been quite good in overcoming actions that desperately wanted to surface. He had himself trained after the disaster on Creation Day.
"YOU'D BETTER HAVE SOME DAMN GOOD BREAKFAST SERVICE!" Lucy screamed back at the woman, flailing her arms in frustration with a key in her hand as she stormed toward the staircase. "This better be the nicest room I've ever seen…"
Natsu followed her quietly, unwilling to attempt to calm the furious woman. She might hurt him. Yes, it was highly probable.
Her anger lasted through the entire way to the room and neither he nor Happy said a word. The line between silent rage and murderous intention was very thin, and nobody wanted to push Lucy across that threshold. He even refrained from saying a thing when she shoved the key into the lock and nearly broke the door after flinging it open with no regard to her strength. He'd really wanted to ask her why she even bothered to use the key.
"I guess it's decent," the violent mage muttered, tossing the key on the table as she stepped into the "decent" room. Natsu actually thought it was a lot better than most of the hotel rooms they'd stayed in during their missions, but it was most certainly not worth the cash they'd paid for it.
Sadly, for all its space, there was only one bed. This automatically meant that Lucy got the bed because she was a girl, and Igneel had not failed to give him a lesson or two in chivalry. He sighed; couch for him again—another one that was way too small.
However, the spirit mage shocked him by holding out a Fairy Tail coin in the palm of her hand to him in offering. "Flip for the bed?"
The dragon slayer simply stared at her for a moment. Normally she'd take the bed and run with it enthusiastically, but for some reason, she seemed eager for him to have an equal chance at it. Of course, she was eying the couch and was obviously thinking the same thing as him: he was going to be insanely uncomfortable on that tiny piece of furniture.
He shook his head at her offering. "Nah, you take it." Because I'd rather you get a least a little happiness today. And it was true. The blonde had gotten into a huge argument with Aquarius (unsurprisingly), one of the thieves had groped her boob—on purpose—and her whip had been sliced in half by one of the rogue's knives. On top of that, there was now this rich hotel, greedily sucking the jewels from them since it was the only hotel in this poor town. Dark guilds weren't the only groups filled with assholes. It was no wonder that Lucy had blown a gasket in confronting the woman in the lobby.
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, her arm dropping back to her side in uncertainty.
The fire mage gave one last nod to assure her that that was what he wanted. Besides, being in a bed in a room with her inside would only give him dirty thoughts, and he hardly needed any more of those.
"Then thanks, I guess," Lucy said softly. There was a shy hint to her voice, which usually didn't exist, but her red face sent a chill down his spine. Damn. Cute. "I think I'll take a shower before I got to sleep then."
She gathered a few articles of clothing before disappearing into the bathroom. Natsu didn't relax until he heard the shower start. He wondered…was this what it was like to be in love? It was really weird if that indeed was the driving force behind his actions. He was giving up on things that he wanted just to see her smile. The one thing he did know was that if Lisanna or Erza were here instead of Lucy, the dragon slayer would never have surrendered that bed so easily.
Then again, being around Lucy was making him do all sorts of weird things. He wasn't even sure he had maintained his sanity thus far.
"Aren't you ever going to tell her?" Happy asked in concern, climbing onto the couch with minor difficulty.
Natsu slammed down beside his Exceed and crossed his arms. "I can't just tell her that she's my mate. She hasn't even agreed to anything, and I haven't claimed her. I can't say anything."
"She's not just your mate, Natsu," the cat started. "You know that it's more than that."
And he did. His initial attraction to her had been just that: an attraction. However, that was what had helped him see past the friendship they had. That was what forced him to see that he wanted more than just friendship. Now, he wanted her all to himself. Lucy was so beautiful, but he hadn't seen that before because he hadn't cared. He still didn't care that she was beautiful, but she did, so he wanted to be the one to tell her that she was. She was so strong—nearly as stubborn as him and possibly even more determined. She was one of the greatest friends he'd ever made, always there when you needed her and doing anything she could to help.
There was so much more he could see in her now that he'd never truly appreciated before. Natsu did want her to be his, but not just because she was supposed to be his mate. He understood now why Lucy had those ridiculous rituals of going out with those guys to see if she liked them or not. She wanted this feeling; the one that made you want so much that it almost hurt, but was, at the same time, so good that it felt like he'd just eaten a piece of Etherion.
"I can't tell her that," the dragon slayer pushed more firmed. "It—it could mess up everything, and I can't tell what she's thinking. Sometimes she reacts like it's poison when I touch her, and sometimes…"
"She can be receptive?" Happy finished with question. "Charle is like that too. She doesn't like being together in public."
"I haven't touched her in public…" Natsu mumbled quietly. He hardly wanted anybody to be seeing anything intimate he was doing with anyone. It felt a little like a secret between he and Lucy that they had even been in those situations together. It was an unspoken pact that neither of them would tell any other about those heartfelt moments they shared together. The trust they held in each other was hard to find anywhere. He wasn't about it go against it.
"That's weird," his furry companion stated in confusion, his brow furrowing in thought.
"I wish I knew what she was thinking. Girls are weird," the rose-haired male sighed in defeat. Girls were weird. He always knew what Gray or Gajeel was thinking about.
Happy nodded solemnly, patting the dragon slayer's arm consolingly. Natsu knew there was nothing else his Exceed could help him with as the cat flew over to the single chair and curled up to go to sleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts. The fire-eater looked towards the door of the bathroom where he could hear the shower still running and smell the mild scent of soap drifting through the cracks of the door. It was impossible to stop thinking about her when she was so close to him and yet so unattainable.
He wondered if Lucy would ever consider being with him. If she knew about how he felt, what would she do? The celestial spirit mage could avoid him, something she had proven to be rather adept at, so it wouldn't be hard to do. She might even laugh, thinking that his confession was a joke. She already thought that he was incapable of feeling this way about a woman.
Could she be serious about him though? Could she ever go crazy about what she would wear when she met him for a date? Could she want him to stay the night at her house doing whatever they wanted? Could she want to exclusively hold his hand and have his lips? Could she ever feel this much for him?
Natsu reminded himself that anything was a possibility, but everything was just so confusing. Sometimes the blonde really did seem like she wanted what he wanted, but other times, she would brush him off as quickly as she could. He ended up going in circles trying to figure out what she was thinking. This girl was the biggest mystery he'd ever been faced with.
The bathroom door clicked open and a refreshed-looking Lucy sauntered into the room clad in a light blue tank and shorts, her hair loosely done up in pigtails. She hopped onto the bed with a book and settled into the covers, her back against the headboard.
"You can shower now if you want," she told him as she opened her novel to the bookmarked page. Natsu found it to be a relief that her mood had visibly lifted.
"Yeah, thanks," the dragon slayer replied, secretly eying her as she intently read. She looked so concentrated when she was reading, with her mouth slightly open and eyes darting back and forth, occasionally furrowing her brow. It was adorable…
Adorable. Ugh.
He picked up his night-shorts from his bag before entering the washroom. Oh Edolas, her scent was touching every corner of that small room. Lucy was haunting him everywhere he went!
The fire mage then gazed into the shower, his eyes landing on the partially used bar of soap that sat on the allocated ledge. Lucy had used that bar of soap. Naked Lucy had used that bar of soap on her body. Naked Lucy's skin had been cleaned by that slippery little rectangle. Naked Lucy. LUCY. NAKED.
He threw the fancy curtain hanging in front of the shower closed before his nose could explode in blood. Natsu had to stop thinking about his partner's bare body—or about how he would be using the same bar of soap to cleanse himself as she did—or how she had run the soap along her tender skin—
Damn it. Too late.
Natsu's shower ended up being ice cold, his focus on keeping his body temperature low. If he was going to be sleeping in the same room as Lucy tonight, he had to keep those perverted thoughts to a minimum. Life had really gotten a lot more difficult in the last seven months. It all came down to control, which, he found he often lost completely in the presence of his best friend, regardless of whatever training he prided himself on. Indeed, life was hard…
After he'd dried himself as well as brushed his teeth, he opened the door to find the bedroom completely dark. The shower had taken longer than expected, apparently, and Lucy had gotten tired and gone to sleep already. Quietly, he formed a small flame around his left hand and snuck over to his bag. It was enough to see where he was going and allow him to stuff his day outfit into the backpack. The dragon slayer then headed over to the couch when he was stopped by a small voice.
"Natsu…?"
"Yeah," he responded not too loudly.
There was a short pause before Lucy spoke again. "Can you come here?
He glanced over at her though he couldn't see her very well. The light was enough to reveal her form, lying on her side and her face away from him, despite her speaking to him. She shifted only slightly in her spot, snuggling more deeply into the bed's sheets. The dragon slayer didn't move from his place, unsure of what to do at this request.
"Natsu? Please?" her small voice asked him again.
Well, he couldn't say "no", so the rose-haired mage dispersed his flames before pulling on a t-shirt. Reluctantly, he moved to the side of the bed to see what she wanted. Natsu fervently hoped that she wasn't sad or emotionally distraught in some way. He could stand when that happened.
"What is it?" the fire-eater asked her quietly so as to not wake Happy. The only light source was the moonlight now, and he could see the reflection of the soft light in her brown eyes as she looked at him through the darkness.
He was taken aback when her hand was suddenly tugging on his. His mouth fell open to say…something, but nothing came out. He could feel her slender fingers locking between his as she sat up and peeked down at the comforter instead.
"I'm… I'm cold," Lucy offered him almost shyly.
His mind flew into overdrive as he followed her lead. The spirit mage seemed to scoot over in the bed a bit more, pulling him gently onto the bed along with her. How could this possibly be happening? The dragon slayer had only just managed to regain control after that shower and now his efforts were utterly shattered. He was in the same bed as the girl he wanted! There was no way for him to combat those desires!
"Keep me warm, okay?" she told him rhetorically. The summoner boldly wrapped her arms around his upper torso and leaned her head on his chest as a pillow, pressing on him to lie fully back on the bed.
"O…kay…?" he croaked lightly, letting her manipulate his movements. Why was she doing this to him? Couldn't she feel how fast his heart was being because of how she was clinging onto him? Why did she need to? She didn't even feel cold, he noted, as his arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders.
Wait a second…! That was it! The blonde was getting him to sleep next to her because she knew the couch was too small for him. Her statement about being cold was a rather blatant lie. It all made sense if she was simply being kind by sharing this bed with him—not that he was complaining. Of course, it scared the crap out of him, being this close to her. Natsu was being hugged by her in a bed! How could he not be terrified of suddenly losing his mind and dragon-humping her brains out?
Dear Mavis, all those dirty thoughts were finally getting to him.
But no, he couldn't stay in this bed if it was out of kindness that it was offered to him. The dragon slayer didn't want her to feel she needed to do that for him. She didn't have to offer to sleep next to (or halfway on top of) somebody she didn't keep in her heart.
"Are you…are you really cold, Lucy?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but he wanted to coax the truth out of her.
She gave in pretty easily. "No," Lucy responded honestly, not moving from her place, "I just wanted you to be comfortable. I know you'd never fit on that tiny couch."
"I can sleep there," the rose-haired male protested firmly. He didn't move yet, waiting to hear what she'd say to that.
"Natsu…" she began, her head tilting up to look at him in the moonlight. His face immediately flushed red at the precious look she was giving him. "Why is your heart beating so fast?
It was certainly not helpful that his heart began to beat even faster at this question that had caught him fully off-guard. So she…she had noticed after all. What was he supposed to say now? "Well, that's because I've been in love with you for months"? How could he possibly tell her the truth when everything between them could break down because of it? He'd already put their friendship through enough since figuring out all of this!
"I—uh—" he spluttered, dumbfounded before he felt her lips interrupt any thought process building in his mind.
Her mouth moved gently against his and he responded after only a second, pulling her against him more tightly on instinct. He could feel her hand stroking his cheek as her lips parted, pushing against the fire mage roughly to deepen their kiss. His tongue rushed out to meet hers, the heat between them growing with every second. The fire coursing through his body was so thrilling that all else was forgotten. Nothing else could matter when what he wanted the most was currently in his possession.
But he was losing control again. It barely registered through the haze of bliss and desire clouding his thoughts. His kisses grew more frantic and his hands began to wander, his right one somehow now underneath her shirt, exploring the graceful curve of her back and getting dangerously close to the hook of her bra. He knew he had to stop before he did anything worse, even if this might be the closest he'd ever get to having Lucy for his own.
"W-wait, Lucy! This—I can't…" Natsu spoke frantically as he pulled away, out of breath from the previous exchange and unable to form a coherent sentence. He held her shoulders cautiously as he attempted to calm himself.
She had the decency to blush, wiping her lips in embarrassment as she moved out of his grasp. "I'm not wrong…" she whispered with conviction, sitting up to fix her shirt that had ridden up because of Natsu's wandering hands.
"W-what?" He sat up too, staring at her in confusion.
"That's why you've been acting so weird. I know now. I know…because your heart was beating so fast," she told him, talking to both herself and him. "Now I just need to hear it from you."
The dragon slayer shrunk under her scrutiny. What did she know? Did she know how he felt or did she think something else? He couldn't say it. It was too risky—too dangerous. There was no way that she could accept his feelings. There was no way…
Awkward seconds ticked by before Lucy finally sighed and shook her head. "Fine. Good night, Natsu."
With that, she lay back down, facing away from him as she pulled the comforter over her body. Natsu stared at her form for a second, then followed suit. What in Earthland had just happened? He tried to think it through, but his mind was in chaos as he stared out the window into the quiet night.
The dragon slayer had an inkling that tonight, he wouldn't be sleeping at all.
