Chapter 14
Lucy jumps at the noise she hears and looks at the beam of white light. Through blurry vision, she squints, not sure why she's seeing it.
"LUCE!" a familiar voice shouts with worry.
She wants to stand and go to him, but her body won't budge a bit.
The light moves with Natsu as he races to her side, crouching down. He sets his phone down so the light is still shining and he holds her. He strokes the back of her head gently. "It's okay. I got ya. You're safe."
The blonde cries in relief, her body shuddering. She clings into him like a desperate lifeline, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.
There's a new beam of light. "Is she okay?" Gray asks, rushing into the room as well.
"She's shook up," the pinkette replies.
"Get her out of here. I'll grab your phone."
"There was a power surge," Natsu explains while he picks her up princess style. "That's why the power is out."
Lucy buries her face into his scarf and inhales his scent. She slowly starts calming down.
After grabbing his friend's phone, the dark-haired guy holds the door open for them. The two walk down the hall, heading for the others.
The lights flicker back on as the power comes back into the building. People cheer and clap.
"Oh, nooow they turn on," Gray mutters bitterly.
"See, all better, Luce," the pinkette says like he's speaking to a child.
She keeps her eyes open and blinks only when she needs to. She doesn't want to see darkness for some time. At least until she's in a calmer state of being. The blonde keeps her gaze on Natsu who's looking down at her. The dark-haired guy is guiding him so he doesn't walk into something.
"Maybe ya should have dessert first so ya feel better," Natsu suggests.
"We can make that happen for you," Gray assures her.
Lucy barely cracks a half-grin that the pinkette is the only one to notice.
He gives her a little squeeze. "That's the spirit."
As they make their way to their friends, the blonde can feel stares. She does her best to ignore it. When they reach the table, Natsu sits down at his spot and leaves Lucy in his lap. No one says a word about it.
"I think she needs some dessert," the pinkette says.
"She will have chocolate tiramisu cake even if I must bake it myself!" With that, Erza stands and walks away like she's on a mission.
"Is there anything you want right now, Miss Lucy?" Wendy asks with concern.
With a shaky hand, she signs one word: water.
Juvia is the first to hand her a full cold glass.
With two hands, the blonde drinks it down greedily and her chest is heaving by the time she finishes it all in one go.
"Better?" the dark-haired guy asks.
She nods.
"Good." The pinkette gets more comfortable and wraps his arms around Lucy. Her body isn't so stiff anymore and she has stopped shaking.
Now the blonde realizes the position she's in. Her face flushes, but she doesn't move away. She's too comfortable.
The scarlet-haired woman returns with a plate of promised tiramisu. She sets it down on front of Lucy. "I want to see you have a few bites at the very least. Understood?"
Natsu lets her adjusts her position and she grabs a fork. She cuts off a sliver and puts it in her mouth. Wonderful flavors explode on her tongue and she quickly takes another bite.
The dark-haired bluenette giggles. "At least she has an appetite."
x-X-x
While the six are enjoying their meal, the owner of the Lamia Scale stops by the table. The short woman with grey hair apologizes profusely to them, especially to the blonde. The owner was slightly afraid she would try using her celebrity status and bash the restaurant for what happened. Lucy assured her multiple times nothing would happen. It wasn't anyone's fault there was a power surge after all.
After dinner, the rest of the evening flies by and Lucy finds herself in her hotel room with her boyfriend. Erza and Wendy are allowing Gray crash with them, letting him have a bed to himself while they share one. He refused to bunk with the long-haired bluenette because he didn't feel safe even thinking about being alone with her in her room.
The pinkette whistles as he glances around the room. "Wow, Luce. Not bad."
*Erza booked it along with the others for the girls,* she explains while he's looking at her.
"Erza booked. Other girls. Got it." He's getting much better sign language. His lessons with Lisanna are helping and he uses books to study on his own.
*I'm going to shower before bed.*
Natsu's face lights up with a mischievous grin. "Shower, huh? I'll keep ya company–"
She shoots him a glare. *No.*
He frowns. "Buuut, Luce–"
*You will stay on the bed and not move. At all.*
The pinkette drags his feet over to the bed and readies himself to sit down. "Are you sure?"
*I'll tell Erza.*
In the blink of an eye, his butt is on the mattress. "She's scary even now…" Then he shudders at a thought.
*Behave while I'm gone.*
"Remote?"
The blonde points to the nightstand and with that, she walks around the corner and into the bathroom. After closing the door behind her, she runs the water while she strips out of her clothes. She steps under the spray of the hot water and shuts the curtain. Lucy already feels better and relaxes while she applies shampoo.
By the time she finishes cleaning herself off, she feels rejuvenated. While the blonde dries off with a towel, something dawns on her. Her boyfriend is outside and so is her suitcase with her pajamas. She's been alone in her room and it didn't matter where she dressed before now. Reluctantly, Lucy wraps the towel around her, wishing it covered more. She can keep the tops of her thighs not so exposed, but that means showing off some cleavage.
After taking a deep breath, the blonde exits the bathroom and walks into the room like nothing is wrong. She heads right for her suitcase that's on the couch in the corner.
While taking up the whole bed, Natsu bolts into a sitting position and gulps. "Lucy… ?"
She keeps her back to him, using one hand to get to her suitcase while the other is keeping her towel up. Meanwhile, her face is heating up and she hopes he doesn't notice. Her free hand is fumbling and she hopes he doesn't notice that either.
He clears his throat, but his voice totally cracks when he speaks. "Uh, Lucy?"
The blonde grabs her pink pair of pajamas and walks back to the bathroom, closing the door with her foot. She discards the towel and puts on her clean clothes. She gives herself a mental pep talk to act normal when she sees her boyfriend before she leaves the bathroom once more. When Lucy rounds the corner, she finds the pinkette intently waiting for her to come out. Now he's on the side of the bed closest to her.
"Hey…" he says slowly.
*Hello,* she signs, walking towards the bed.
Natsu scooches over so she has the right side of the bed for herself. "H-how was your shower?"
*Are you alright?* the blonde signs, completely ignoring his question.
He speaks quickly and avoids eye contact. "Me? Fine. Totally fine. Yeah." He briefly steals a glance before looking away.
Lucy sighs, rolling her eyes. She hopes he won't act like this the rest of the night. *Do you want to shower?*
"No," the pinkette replies way too quickly.
With a huff, the blonde turns so she is facing him while sitting-crossed legged. She decides to ask him again. *Are you alright?*
He merely gulps. "Fine."
*Tell me the truth.*
Natsu's face pales, which is an abnormal look for him because he has more of a tan than her. He fidgets with his fingers and mumbles something not audible enough for Lucy to hear.
*Speak up,* the blonde urges.
"Itwaslikeseeingyanaked," he repeats way too quickly.
*I only caught the first part. You need to slow down.*
"Slow down?"
Lucy nods.
The pinkette takes a deep breath and lets it out. "It was like… seeing ya… naked."
*I was wearing a towel.*
"That's the closest to naked I have seen ya!" he points out defensively.
*I've seen you only wearing shorts before. You had your private parts covered when and I had mine covered too.*
Natsu buries his face into his hands. "It ain't an everyday thing to see your hot girlfriend in a towel fresh from the shower in her hotel room!" He peeks to see her reaction.
The blonde's face is the most red he's seen it. Ever. She's beyond frazzled and flustered. *Don't say stupid things like that, you idiot.*
"But it's true!" Then the pinkette frowns. "And I'm not an idiot."
*You're acting like one!* Lucy takes a calming breath. And then another one. *New subject. I want to relax before bed.*
His dark green eyes grow wide with shock. "B-bed?"
*Yes.*
"We're supposed to sleep… in the same bed… ?"
She mentally facepalms he just now realized that. *You could use the floor.*
"No way! It won't be as comfy."
*Then I guess we'll share the bed.* Then the blonde adds, *But that's it. Just sleep.*
"Okay."
*Alright.*
A/N Part 1: Because of the way the last chapter ended, I figured I'd give y'all some feels! I planned on updating last night, but I was out with the boyfriend for a change! Sorry to keep y'all waiting! As always, thank you all so much for the love for RPRT :D Means a lot!
A/N Part 2: So recently I thought about starting a new NaLu fic! But I'll only make it a few chapters long. Be on the lookout for it!
SantaKitty: When I was younger, I was at a restaurant with my family when a power surge happened and everything went out. The walls were mostly windows so there was light for people to see. My little brain wondered what it would have been like if someone was in the bathroom when it happened because I was in the bathroom minutes before the power went out! So I added a similar situation to the story XD But if I was in Lucy's shoes, I'm sure I woulda freaked out too!
Mia Anime: No promises, but I hope I'll be able too! I'd wanna set away some time to focus on what I'm reading. Talented? Me? I just love writing is all! But thank you so much :D
Yuyui Hime: It wasn't just Natsu to the rescue XD Natsu and Gray may be idiots, but they're Lucy's idiots and would do anything to help her out :)
smile-lifegoeson: It's funny how other readers thought it was Dan too XD But not this time! Actually, I'm not sure if he'll pop up again… Oh well. Gray and Natsu came to the rescue though! Which seemed reasonable to happen because they both care for Lucy.
Rainbowpoptartcat: Haha, sleep can be a good thing!
: Yay for the love :D
ABG93: I felt like adding a cliffhanger for change :P Gotta keep the readers interested!
TpLoz: Oh no! That's not good :/
FireShifter: It wasn't just Natsu to the rescue, but Gray as well. But Natsu did make it there first XD
artistofthemind: Dan certainly was annoying in the anime. That's why I used him to be the annoying character in this fanfic! I almost didn't have him show up for the second day, but I like how Natsu and Gray stepped up for Lucy! :)