Chapter Twelve – The Storm

Author's Note: again, sorry for the slow update. Remember when I said I had food poisoning? It's not food poisoning. I have a fever and I've been throwing up and having stomach aches since last week, so…yeah. I am starting to feel better, though, so that's good. Anyway, here's chapter twelve! Yes, I know, it's pretty short. I apologize. But I hope you guys still like it!

Oh, and I have a favor to ask. I've been working on a story called Love and Lucky, and it's a collection of NaLu oneshots. Please do me a solid and go check them out and leave some reviews. It needs your love, too! :)

"It's throbbing," Natsu whined. He'd been picking at the bandage on his head for the past fifteen minutes, causing irritation to the bump. Lucy rolled her eyes as she read her book. She didn't even look away from it when she spoke.

"Well, if you would leave it alone like I told you, then maybe it wouldn't hurt," she snapped, annoyed that he hadn't taken her advice seriously. She looked up at him to see him poking at it again. She sighed and reached over, flicking his wound with her finger.

"Ow!" he shouted, holding a hand to his bump. "Why would you do that, Luce?" He immediately shut up when he saw the brown-eyed glare directed his way.

"Stop. Touching. It," she said lowly, pausing after each word for emphasis. Natsu nodded quickly.

"A-Aye, sir," he said shakily, quoting his Exceed. Lucy smiled and patted his arm.

"Good boy." She switched her attention back to her book. Thinking she couldn't see him, he took the opportunity to stick his tongue at her. She didn't even look at him. "Put your tongue back in your mouth, Natsu. You'll catch flies." The rosy-haired boy did as he was told. Whoa, how'd she do that? He sighed and looked out the window. The previously bright sky painted with streaks of orange and pink was now dark and cloudy.

"Hmm," he hummed, slightly surprised at the sudden change in weather.

"What?" Lucy asked while she continued reading.

"It looks like it's gonna rain." The blonde froze.

"What?"

"Yeah, the sky's all dark. It's definitely gonna rain." He turned to Lucy, stunned to see the panicked look in her eyes. "What's wrong?" Lucy forced a smile onto her face, and he instantly knew it was fake. He'd known her too long to be fooled by her fake smiles.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, trying a little too hard to convince him. "I'm fine." She felt herself stiffen when Natsu put on his "I-know-you're-lying" face.

"Don't lie to me, Luce. What's wrong?" She was about to tell him again that nothing was wrong, when a loud boom erupted outside. She yelped and jumped, dropping her book to the floor. Natsu was taken aback by her response to the thunder. "Luce, are you scared?" he asked. There wasn't one hint of a tease in his voice. He was being concerned. There was another loud clap, and he could see her trembling. She's scared of thunder? he asked himself. How come I didn't know that? When he thought about it, it hardly ever rains in Magnolia, and every time that is has, he didn't remember being with Lucy during any of those times. It was completely reasonable that he didn't know. Lucy took in a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, although it didn't do much.

"Y-yes," she whispered, answering his previous question, even though he already knew. What should he do? Lucy's eyes darted away from his and stared out the window. He followed her gaze to see it was, just as he said it would, raining. Water droplets pelted against the glass, creating an ominous ambience for the nearly silent room. Well, that was fast. He looked back at Lucy and saw that her eyes hadn't moved away from the window, and that she was slowly curling in on herself. Natsu couldn't do anything else but stare at her. He'd never seen her like this before. Sure, he'd seen her scared, but…this was something else. He'd never seen that look in her eyes, and he's definitely never seen her freeze like that. Is this what happens during every thunderstorm? Damn.

After a long, silent pause, there was another crack of thunder that lasted a good few seconds, and it was soon followed by another. The second boom was strong enough to cut off the power as it lightly shook the building, plunging the room into darkness. Lucy squeaked and whimpered, hugging her knees to her chest. Blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden change in light, he reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was shocked at how badly she was shaking. Outside, there was a flash of lightning, and it briefly illuminated the room. It was brief, but it was enough for him to see the look on her face. She was looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes, and those angelic, chocolate orbs were glassy, like she was on the verge of tears. He didn't like seeing her like that. And he couldn't stop himself from scooting closer to her. He draped a protective arm over her shoulders and pulled her toward him. Instinctively, she clasped at his one-sleeved shirt and huddled close to him.

Suddenly the situation didn't seem all that bad, to Natsu anyway. After all, the girl he's in love with is clinging to him for comfort, holding onto him for consolation. He quickly admonished himself for thinking such foolish things. She needed him. He wasn't going to take advantage of the moment. Another roar of thunder rippled through the air, causing Lucy to jump, whimper, and tighten her grip around Natsu. The rose-haired boy rubbed her arm. She sniffled, signaling that she had started to cry. "Shh…" he hushed softly. "You're alright." There were many worst-case scenarios going on in her head. But having somebody there made her feel a lot better. When it would rain in Magnolia, she usually called Plue to keep her company. He wasn't very good at comforting her, but at least he was something to hold onto while she had mini heart attacks. She loved having her little Nikola with her, but it was nice to have a real person there. Especially since that person was Natsu.

Having Natsu in situations like that always made her feel better, even in the slightest. Him being there made her feel safe. She knew that while he was there, nothing bad would happen. And having that in mind, she slowly began to relax, which he noticed. He felt her fist around his shirt begin to slacken and her muscles were loosening. That is, until there was another flash of lightning accompanied by a loud boom from outside. She jumped and buried her face into his chest, tightly closing her eyes. "I gotcha," Natsu assured her, bringing her closer to him. "It's okay." Feeling another wave of tears burning at the back of her eyes, she squeezed her eyes tighter and nuzzled Natsu's chest as if trying to hide. Despite the intense fear and the appreciation for Natsu she was feeling, she was embarrassed. There wasn't really a story behind it, she just hated and was terrified by thunder. She hated how it made her feel so weak, so vulnerable. That's why she never told him about this little phobia of hers. It wasn't that she felt he would tease her about it or anything, not at all. She knew Natsu way too well to think so low of him. Sure he teased her and made fun of her, but he would never make a joke out of her insecurities, especially one like this.

"Natsu…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain hitting the building. The dragon slayer hummed as a response. "Thank you…" Natsu grinned, a light chuckle slipping passed his lips.

"Silly girl," he mused, softly patting her shoulder. "There's no reason to thank me." For the first time since the storm began, a small hint of a smile twitched onto Lucy's mouth. Silly boy, she thought to herself. There's a million reasons to thank you. It was that instant when she realized that her head was right over his heart. His repetitive two-beat song was wonderful, and she found herself gradually relaxing as she continued to listen to it. Her fist clenching his shirt finally unfurled completely, which brought ease to him. It was nice to see her finally relaxing. He wasn't expecting for her to shakily reach over to clasp his hand. She pulled his hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of his hand. Twice in one day, he thought, feeling an uncomfortable heat creep onto his face. Lucy grinned against his hand.

His heart skipped a beat.