Unedited Prompts From Tumblr: Touch Prompts
Prompt: Touching Foreheads (Nalu)

It was their thing.

The silent language.

There was a certain accuracy towards the Guild's claims that Natsu was an affectionate person. Public displays of affection didn't bother him, he showed his emotions - good or bad- as quickly as he felt them and saw no reason to hold back at any given time. That accuracy was the easiest way to describe his endearments, the most expedient, but not quite as on the nose as one would think.

Natsu had a way about him. Certain actions, certain movements designated towards specific people. A fist bump or elbow nudge to Gray when they fought together coupled with the head nods and somewhat forceful hugs of Erza he would fall into despite his verbal complaints. His willingness to one arm hug and dance with anyone in the guild (or throw hands a second later) at any given moment. These were all his signs of affection, but they weren't universal. He had something for everyone.

Lucy thrived on affection, verbal and physical. She never bluntly stated the need for it, but it was clear in her attempts to obtain it. The wide, bashful smile when Erza would compliment her strength, the hopeful stares that turned to confidence when Gray and Levy commended her for her foresight. And the ever subtle refusal to let go in a hug. (Unless embarrassed, many thought Lucy would soak in a good bear hug like a heating blanket.) She needed affection, affirmation, a silent promise that she was more than her upbringing had given her.

They were similar: Natsu and Lucy. Similar in their needs to remember they weren't alone and that's why one affectionate touch became their own. Natsu had received it once from Erza, during a moment between them when he thought the Requip Mage was sacrificing herself forever. He remembered the power behind it, the feelings that stirred up in his gut. That moment was horrific, sad, enough to make him worry he could lose his friends at any given moment.

He thought he'd hate his forehead being touched because of that, but then there was Lucy and the one moment he acted without thinking. That simple act turned to a seed for courage and pride. It was a pillar between them that spoke volumes that neither of them said aloud.

I'm here. We're together. You're not alone. You can do this. I can do this. We can do this.

There was a time Natsu didn't think Lucy caught on to the meaning behind the words. She was too caught up in the proximity between them that shocked her senses and made her cheeks heat up. Frustrating. How else could he get his words across? He couldn't write books and journals like she could, all he had was his actions, but time and time again, that simple touch calmed him, and Natsu continued to believe that maybe, just maybe, it calmed her too.

When the time came that she initiated the gesture, he'd been half asleep, resting on her lap after a long train ride. Half-aware, Natsu groggily opened his eyed when her forehead touched his and he was stunned to realize she was staring right at him: intense and focused.

"... I don't have a fever, you know." He had muttered, voice husky from disuse. The answering laugh filled his ears with butterflies and his eyes shut once again; basking in feel of her hair curtaining around them and the softness of her skin as it rested against his. "Yeah," Lucy whispered, voice a quite hum while fingers worked through his hair, "I know, but I felt you needed it."

He didn't confirmed it, but Natsu didn't have to. The curve of his lips as sleep took him was all she needed to know she was right. She had understood, and would continue to understand.

That comfort and solidarity. It was theirs.