This is essentially the fanfiction equivalent of an anime filler episode. :p But I think that is exactly the reason it will please you. Heh.
Chapter 19:
i fell in love with love one night
Natsu would have awoken entirely content if not for the residue of the sharp, stinging pain of hellfire he had felt for the last hours. The ache had died down to a dull pain at last, but it was far from gone. But this... he could handle.
Especially if it meant he could stay exactly like he was for a little while longer.
It was comfortably warm beneath his blanket fortress, warmer than usual, which he guessed he could thank the body for that was pressed closely against his. Really, Lucy was hogging him like a spider monkey. Not that he complained.
His content smile slowly weakened as he recalled everything that had happened the day before. Hell, they'd gotten dangerously close to dying. Though he supposed, only one of them would have actually died.
Which made matters a lot worse.
He'd sworn he'd protect her. And he'd almost failed her; had almost broken the promise he had so openly had declared only a day ago.
It felt so much longer now.
Staring down at Lucy's sleeping face, comfortably pressing against his chest as she sighed in her sleep, he didn't quite know what to feel.
It was all so very confusing; all so new.
Nothing even remotely like this had ever happened to him before, and all the feelings raging inside him certainly didn't help bring him a sense of clarity. He wasn't quite sure what they all meant, but what he knew was that he liked feeling them.
And he was okay with that, as long as he got to hold her like this.
His arms tightened around Lucy, trying to pull her even closer so that her body heat might seep into him completely. But it was an impossible task; she'd already clung to him so tightly in her sleep, seeking out his inhuman warmth, that not a centimeter of hollow space remained between them.
Tipping his head forward the tiniest bit, Natsu buried his nose in her messy hair and inhaled deeply. Her sweet scent had such a soothing effect on him that he'd questioned her humanity more than once. It had to be witchcraft, hadn't it?
She'd cast some kind of spell on him.
One so clever that it even made him unwilling to free himself of it, if he'd been able to.
A content sigh escaped his lips, and he moved one of his legs so it came over her waist, ignoring the sharp pain travelling from his toes up into his stomach. This desire to be as close to her as possible was not entirely new, but it had grown stronger to a point where he was slightly overwhelmed by it.
But when he felt Lucy's arm drape around his waist in an unconscious response, he decided he didn't damn well care.
Even if they were huddled together only because of the cold they had endured, even if she had dropped down onto his mattress and stayed there only because of exhaustion... he would take everything he could get.
It was selfish of him, this desire... but he guessed it was in his nature.
It was dawning on him that there were things he could not control, and his heart was one of them. As much as he'd tried to seduce and taint her... she had had an effect on him just as much.
She was shining just as brightly as she had on the first day he'd met her, but now this fact filled him with a sense of pride and admiration that almost hurt.
She was strong, his Lucy.
Stronger than him, probably, just in a different way. He wondered if it had been her that had gotten them out of the river. His memory was foggy, and the more he tried fighting the more it all blurred before his mind's eye. Maybe it had been him after all, and he just didn't remember.
What he did remember was that she'd dragged him all the way back home.
And what he remembered even more - it came to him suddenly, a little late but with such brilliant clarity that he blinked repeatedly - was that she'd kissed him.
And that it had been the most amazing thing that had ever happened to him.
He'd never imagined it like that. Kissing people had always sounded kind of gross, and had been taught to them as a means to an end. But he hadn't been prepared for what he'd feel in a kiss.
Then again he wondered if it would have been the same with anyone else.
Something told him no.
A low intake of breath interrupted his thoughts, and as he glanced down curiously his eyes widened just in time to watch Lucy sneeze against his chest. He tried not to snort as her dazed expression turned to one of horror, and she slowly glanced up to see if he was awake.
He wouldn't do her the favour of pretending to be asleep. Instead, when their eyes met, he raised a taunting brow. With a low wail that never made it past her throat, Lucy quickly began to wipe at his bare chest with the sleeve of whatever weird shirt she was wearing.
It didn't look like her usual wardrobe.
"Why don't you get a cold?" he heard her mumble under her breath, but when she turned her head upwards again there was no disdain on her face. Instead, her cheeks shone a soft red that came close to the colour of his skin. Her voice turned soft, almost shy. "Good morning."
His smile turned crooked.
The urge to try this kissing thing again overcame him out of nowhere, but he'd never been one to reign in his desires.
Surging forward, he let his lips collide with hers, revelling in her surprised intake of breath before his mouth closed over hers entirely. He was curious to find out if it would be as amazing as the day before, or if it had been the novelty of the whole thing that had left such an extraordinary impression on him.
As it turned out… it was even better.
Maybe the fact that neither was wrestling with death and pain anymore had something to do with that fact, or maybe it was just their newfound hunger.
If their first kiss had been tame and consoling, this one was everything but: it was curious and sloppy and eager, happy and carefree and fun.
He shuddered when she sank her teeth into his lower lip, gently nibbling on the sensitive skin, and he realized this was yet another part of human life that she would be able to teach him about.
It wasn't the first, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
But it was this thought - that of her humanity, of her fragility and otherness that suddenly made him falter. He was a devil; what good could really come out of this? He'd been trying to kiss her for so long, before everything had changed, with the sole purpose of tainting her heart and corrupting her soul. Because she'd be kissing a devil.
His lips froze, suddenly feeling awfully cold.
What if he was doing the opposite of protecting her right now, just because of his own selfish desires? What if he was tainting her without even trying?
Lucy faltered, noticing his sudden change.
A little unwillingly, she pulled back, and for a moment he lost himself in the sight of her flushed face and swollen lips. She smiled carefully, her eyes silently questioning.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice a little hoarse, and it did weird things to his stomach.
"Lucy..." he mumbled, suddenly unsure. The fire in his belly was roaring, desiring her lips back on his, but he held himself back. "Are you feeling okay?"
His worried question took her by surprise, but after her initial shock a large smile spread across her face. She nodded, biting her lip as she did so, and it looked awfully adorable.
"I'm fine, I think, except for the cold," she said softly, placing a hand on his cheek, "Thanks for worrying."
He couldn't bring himself to tell her about his doubts, not now.
He was quite sure it might have broken him. He needed to hang on to this happiness he'd found as long as he could. As soon as they left this cocoon of togetherness, the real world would come crashing back in, and it didn't hold many nice things.
"But what about you?" she asked with wide eyes, looking guilty all of a sudden. "You… I was so worried about you. I was scared that you- that I'd lose you."
He watched her eyes fill up with tears, and panic flooded through him.
"Dummy," he said with a small laugh, "Devils don't die that easily."
"You better not," she whispered a little sternly, her brows furrowing, "But... you were in so much pain. Did something happen... before we jumped into the river?"
Damn, she didn't miss much, did she? And here he'd been thinking he had been able to overplay it before the pain came with a vengeance and left him unable to fight it. It still wasn't gone; he was just keeping it at bay. Natsu sighed.
"Remember that time I turned into a salamander at your place?" he asked.
With an involuntary little giggle, Lucy nodded, her eyes curious as he went on.
"I told you there are some things a devil can't do until he passes his exam and becomes a 'real' devil." The word felt bitter on his tongue, and he spat it out with disdain as a familiar scowl formed on his face. "Transformations, spells, and the like..."
Lucy nodded, serious now. "You said that, yes. Which is why you couldn't transform into a human."
"Yeah," he confirmed, "Except, I'd be able to if it comes to skills alone, I'm quite sure. It's just... if we use that kind of magic without being allowed to... we get punished. And there's nothing you can do about that."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You attacked Marde..." she whispered, biting her lip.
He didn't answer, but he guessed that was confirmation enough.
Lucy brought a hand up to his cheek once more, gently stroking along his skin. She remained silent. Resisting the urge to close his eyes, Natsu instead watched her closely. Her expression suddenly changed when her hand moved into his hair and bumped against one of his little horns, and Natsu gave an amused snort.
Curiously, she felt her way to the tip and back, and Natsu hummed when her fingers massaged the skin around it. Lucy raised her brows at his content sounds, pressing her fingertips against his skull more deliberately.
Natsu had never been touched this way before, and he decided it felt wonderful.
He lowered his head, gladly pushing it into her hands, and he heard her laugh softly as she began to massage his head with both her hands, running her fingers through his hair and turning it into even more of a mess.
After a while (during which, he realized to his horror, he'd started to accidentally purr), Lucy began weakening her movements, her formerly firm touch turning into a light tickle. Natsu shivered, writhing slightly as her hands mischievously travelled to his neck.
"I didn't know devils were ticklish," she snickered when he jerked back under a sneaky attack that targeted his armpits, and suddenly a dark grin formed on his face.
He wouldn't just let her win like that.
And so, without granting her an answer, he tucked her head under his chin, turning her onto her back, and she laughed beneath him as he began tickling her sides. Her initial giggles soon turned to violent thrashing, but his grip was iron and his mischief unprecedented -until she sneezed right in his face.
As always, thanks for all the lovely reviews!
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