NALU ALERT!
I LOVE this chapter! Enjoy! (wink)
"You're going on a date...with Gray," Lucy's mouth dropped open as she stared at Gray and Levy.
They were in Gray and Natsu's kitchen, having their morning coffee. It was quickly becoming a morning tradition.
"When did THIS happen?" Lucy exclaimed, recovering from the shock.
"What's a date?" Natsu asked, pouring himself a second cup of coffee.
"It wasn't planned," Levy said to Lucy, "It just kind of…happened. You know. You and Natsu went and had that fun day together. You weren't home yet and so we decided to get something to eat…"
"What's a date?" Natsu repeated, looking from face to face.
"So you went out and bonded? Good thing I ended up spending the night here!" Lucy was grinning widely. The new development was a shocker, but a welcome one. She loved Levy and she just wanted her to be happy, "I mean if I had gone home, that could've been awkward."
Natsu tried again, "What's a date?"
"We didn't sleep together," Gray said pointedly, "Well, we did, but we didn't do anything...yet." he shot a look off at Levy as she smacked his arm, "It was coffee and a movie, then sleeping. No big deal. This time we're going to Crocus. We'll be gone overnight…so you two stick together, okay?"
"WHAT'S A DATE?" Natsu asked again, much louder this time.
"Hey Lucy – you can explain that to him, right?" Gray asked, his eyes sparkling as he winked at her with an unsaid 'have fun with that'. He wrapped an arm around Levy's shoulders, "We're outta here!"
Lucy turned red.
They left both Lucy and Natsu in the kitchen, mouths agape, and escaped out into the hallway.
Immediately, Levy dropped Gray's arm from her shoulders, "I want to get one thing straight right now, mister…we are NOT dating and you cannot casually touch me."
Gray snickered, "Yes m'am. But the cover story worked and we now have a full day to go see what's going on in Crocus. Have you got the keys?"
She nodded, "Wasn't easy. Lucy was restless last night and rolled around in her sleep a lot. She was keeping them between her mattresses."
"And you're squared away with work?"
"Yeah. Freed wasn't happy, but he'll get over it."
"Well, let's get going. We don't want to miss the train."
Levy nodded, following after him, still smirking over Gray insinuating to Lucy and Natsu that they could sleep together in the future. Natsu wouldn't get it, but Lucy...Lucy wasn't going to leave her alone about it.
Back in the kitchen, Natsu sat next to Lucy at the kitchen table with wide eyes.
"I'm not going to tell you, Natsu," Lucy said, continuing to read her paper, "I have a very hard time believing you're completely clueless about this."
"I am though!" Natsu exclaimed, "I seriously don't have a clue!"
She glanced at him, then went back to her paper.
"Please?" Natsu asked, putting on his best puppy dog look. Lucy wondered who had taught him that.
He put his hand down overtop of her paper and stuck his puppy dog eyes in her face.
"Pretty please?"
"OKAY FINE!"
She pondered the best way to bring up the concept.
"Well, you know Gray is a man…and Levy is a woman."
"So far you haven't impressed me with your explaining skills, Lucy…I already knew that."
"YOU HAVE TO LET ME FINISH!" she hissed.
She glanced at him, still in very close proximity to her. She could feel the tops of her ears going red.
"Go sit at the other end of the table."
"What for?" he asked.
"If you want me to tell you, you'll do it."
Obediently, Natsu sat at the other end of the table, watching her expectantly.
"Okay…I can't believe you don't know this already...but here goes. Gray is a man and Levy is a woman. Sometimes when a man and a woman spend a lot of time together, they get feelings for each other. Like they really like spending time together, even more than other people…and so they go on a date. A date is an outing to determine if maybe there could be love between those people. Sometimes after a period of dating, they decide to get married. Sometimes they realize that they're not good together and break up."
"So Gray and Levy are getting these feelings?"
"Apparently."
"But how do they know they have feelings for each other?"
"That's why they're going on a date, Natsu…to see if they have feelings for each other. They enjoy each other's company and they're exploring to see if there could be more."
"What do you mean more?"
"I mean they're deciding if they like each other enough to live together and spend the rest of their lives together."
Natsu considered this for a moment.
"What do they feel like…the feelings?"
Lucy let out a deep breath, "Falling in love is a beautiful feeling," she said, her voice low, "You feel warm inside and the other person makes you feel like you're important…and secure…and attractive. It needs to go both ways though…the people have to feel that way about each other."
He watched her, lost in her own little world, as she contemplated the feeling of falling in love.
"You get warm inside when you see the other person," she continued, "and you can't wait to see them when you're apart."
"Have you ever been in love?" he asked.
She paused, her face suddenly white.
"No," she answered finally.
"What did Gray mean by 'sleeping together'? He told me a story yesterday and I didn't know why that could be a bad thing."
Her face felt like a volcano about to spew. She needed to change the subject…fast.
"Where did you grow up, Natsu, that you don't know any of this? I mean, most 12-year-olds know this stuff. You're what…23? 24?"
"23. And I grew up in an orphanage," he said immediately.
She nodded, remembering he'd already told her he never knew his parents.
"Didn't anyone teach you about how life works?" she asked.
He shook his head, "This is longest I've ever interacted with people."
"You've been alone for a good portion of your life, haven't you?" Lucy searched his face as a distinct expression of loneliness clouded his eyes.
"I've always been alone," he answered.
"But who looked after you? Who tucked you in at night? Who loved you?"
"Nobody," Natsu said, his face expressionless, "They all stayed away from me because I'd get into trouble from time to time…after awhile I stopped trying to find a home that would love me. I decided that if nobody wanted to be with me and everybody just got mad at me all the time, maybe I'm just not lovable."
Something broke inside her. The look on his face was one of calm acceptance. He honestly believed he wasn't lovable.
She stood from her seat, circling the table and pulled him into a hug. It surprised him and he didn't know what to do at first. Slowly, he placed his arms around her waist, melting into her embrace. He loved the contact. There was something about being hugged by another person that brought calmness to him. The fact that the person hugging him was Lucy just made it all the more special. She sent tingles through his body even when she wasn't trying to.
"You didn't deserve that, Natsu," she said into his hair, "You're smart and funny and easy to be around. It seems to me that you're bursting with love for everything around you. You are completely lovable. One day, someone will want to share that with you. And she will be the luckiest person in Earthland."
She sat on his lap so that she could give him a full-on hug, burying her face in his shoulder. His emotions were in turmoil again. He hugged her back, not really understanding why there were tears streaming down her face. Was she crying…for him? Was it because he'd been alone for so long? Or because nobody had ever loved him?
She'd said such nice things about him. He didn't know if he could agree he was smart or funny or easy to be around, but he felt a surge of something swell in him as she spoke. You are completely lovable. If that was true though…would he have spent so long alone?
She pulled her tear-streaked face up. He watched her with wonder. She was so amazing. Lucy had grown up alone in a different way. But she was full of kindness and infinite patience.
"Natsu," she said softly, "What should we do today?"
She was still sitting on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. Another wave of that odd feeling he couldn't identify swept through him as he tightened his arms around her lower back.
"What do you want to do today, Lucy?"
THIS! Her mind screamed, but she forced herself to get composed and got off of his lap.
"We should do something fun," she suggested, "Let's take Plue for a swim."
He nodded. He liked swimming. He'd had tons of practice when he in the Animal Welfare Division.
"Okay," she said, kissing his cheek, "I'll go get my swimsuit on."
She disappeared out the door.
His fingers flew to where she'd kissed him, a warm feeling spreading through his body. That small kiss had warmed up his entire body. Hugging her was amazing. And she had initiated the hug. She had told him he was lovable. A sense of excitement surged through him. He was going to get to spend the entire day with her while Gray and Levy were gone. And she wanted to be with him.
For the first time in his existence, Natsu Dragneel started to wonder if it was possible for him to love someone and have them love him back. He hoped so. Because the myriad of emotions running through him were not subsiding. And the only time these kinds of surges of emotion came was when he was with Lucy Heartfilia.