TRIGGER WARNING - There are big mentions of self harm, suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide. Also elements of abuse throughout the story. Please read with caution.

Lucy couldn't help but smile to herself when she left her room to head over to the breakfast area with Levy. She was aware that Natsu wouldn't be found in there, but she didn't mind. The thought of not having to go to any group sessions was so good that she had trouble wiping the smile from her face. It caught the attention of the blue-haired girl besides her.

"You seem in a good mood today, Lucy," Levy said, a smile playing at her own lips when the blonde looked up in surprise.

"I do? I don't know, I guess I just feel a little more positive today." Lucy shrugged before joking: "Meds must finally be kicking in."

"I'm glad to hear that," Levy laughed as they both entered the dining area.

Lucy tried to act normally when she sat at the table and ate her cornflakes. She listened idly to the chatter around her from the other patients and her friends. Well, the people she stuck by the most. The more she thought about it, the more shocked she was that Natsu had actually agreed to let her come with him.

He was without a doubt intimidating, to anyone. Even Lucy. Maybe especially Lucy. But Lucy had the feeling he hadn't always been that way. Though, the more she thought about it, the reason she was drawn to him was due to how he reacts to herself. He struggles to shy away from her and bite his tongue as to not expose all his dark secrets, even though she knew full well he'd rather she didn't know. He'd rather nobody knew.

The fact that he couldn't control himself around Lucy excited her in a way it shouldn't - In a way that's foreign to her. She had never liked a guy in her life, nor had one ever shown interest in her. Well, except that one guy when she was fourteen. But he abandoned her when he realised how much the rest of their classmates disliked her, and she was pretty sure he was only interested in her in the first place because of her family's money.

He wasn't a nice boy, in personality or looks. So, for a boy who looks like Natsu to take even a slight interest towards her was just bewildering. What would a boy like that see in a girl like her? It didn't make any sense.

Regardless of her wandering mind, Lucy got through the next three hours with little difficultly. It was very easy to slip away at twelve since it was free time so her absence wouldn't be noted until the next session. She had memorised the way to get to the eerie piano room. She knew how to get there easily, even though it was in a rather inconspicuous side of the building.

As she came to the two large, heavy doors, panic suddenly swamped over her. What are they going to do for the rest of the day? Are there enough things in the world to even talk about to fill the time? Lucy bit her lip, her palm resting on the cold metal of the door before she finally chased the fears away.

Since when did she worry about things like that? This was so typically teenager it almost made her gag. She shook her head before pushing the doors open and stepping in, letting the doors swing behind her as her eyes adapted to the dim lighting.

As the room became clear, her awe at its beauty resurfaced from the first time she had come there. The beautiful black and red tiled floor polished to perfection. The deep red curtains that covered all the walls. It was if she was in there for the first time again.

Lucy dropped her eyes from the ceiling, and they wandered till they landed on the pink-haired man sat at the piano – The instrument sad proudly on the small stage. Natsu's head was low, and the pianos lid was open as his is long fingers trailed over the keys. Lucy swallowed thickly before making her way forward. The bottom of her shoes clicked on the tiled floor before she stood beside the piano bench. Natsu didn't look up. Maybe he hadn't seen her come in.

"Anyone see you?" He spoke so suddenly that Lucy jumped. He chuckled when she made a face.

"No," she grumbled. "I told you getting away would be easy."

He was smirking as usual. The corner of his mouth pulled up in that cocky, fanged half smile that caused Lucy's chest to tighten. He was so handsome she wanted to cry. She could clearly see amusement in his eyes, but she did her best to seem nonchalant - She couldn't have him getting the wrong idea. He tilted his head to the side, frowning playfully at her expression.

"Somethin' wrong, Luce?" he asked, teasing clear in his tone. Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Shut up," She muttered. Natsu slid to the side slightly on the bench so she could have a seat - She eyed it warily before sitting down as far away from him as she could. He didn't seem to mind.

"So," Lucy continued, folding her hands in her lap before turning her head to look at him. "You gonna play for me or what?"

Natsu's brows shot up. It seemed he wasn't expecting that.

"You want to hear me play? The piano?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "No, I want to hear you play the tambourine - Of course the piano."

Natsu chuckled dryly before running a nervous hand through his hair, eyeing the keys through narrowed eyes.

"I don't know," he muttered. "I don't really play for people. But we do have a lot of time to kill and…"

Lucy raised a brow. "And?"

Natsu sighed before looking over to her, his expression somewhat defeated. "And you already know more than anyone. Don't see what harm this could do."

Lucy grinned and nodded.

"Exactly. Don't be a baby - I wanna see if you were lying or not." Natsu laughed. It was a real, funny belly laugh that made her smile.

"What do you want to hear?" he asked, and Lucy smiled in triumph.

"I want to hear something of yours - Your favourite piece. You compose, right?"

Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I compose, you idiot." He took a deep breath again before unclenching his fists.

"Actually, there is a song I want you to hear." He said suddenly. Lucy nodded.

"Okay… What is it?"

"My latest piece," he told the blonde, who nodded. "But also, my best yet. I wrote it after our… talk."

Lucy's brows shot up. Was he saying…?

"Wow, you're not saying you wrote a song for me, are you? Cause that would be a little – "

"Ew, no," he cringed, and Lucy laughed. "I wouldn't say that. More like how I felt after telling you what I did. It was weird, talking about that with someone other than Gildarts."

Lucy hummed lowly. "Okay, I get that. What makes it your favourite piece? Surely you have loads."

Natsu made a face and looked ahead of them.

"My old music was kinda… harsh. My parents hated it which fuckin' sucked. But my music reflects how I feel, I think. I was angry and hated everythin' so my music just… turned out that way. When you came here - I don't know, you were so…" He trailed off. "Annoying that it distracted me from how angry I was with them."

Lucy laughed and he smirked before continuing.

"But it's been a while since I've felt any real… positive emotion. It's hard to with Malis, he won't let me. But it's almost like he can't take control when I speak to you, so it's easier." He shook his head at his own words.

"Go on then," Lucy said finally, making Natsu smirk without looking up as he hovered his hands over the keys, barely touching them.

"Here we go, then," he muttered.

And then he played.

And, God, was it breath-taking. The song was heart-wrenching. Impeccable. Lucy didn't hear one single fault in the graceful melody. It was beautiful but melancholy. Like a song she forgot she knew until she heard it again. The melody was complicated, sometimes angry but still… amazing.

Natsu's hands danced effortlessly over the keys; like it was as easy was breathing. His brow wasn't even furrowed. He seemed so content and relaxed. Lucy didn't know why she had expected different. He was right. It kinda did express how it felt to talk about all their baggage.

When the song started to come to a close and it was like Lucy could breathe again. It finished strangely, like the song wasn't really over. An imperfect cadence, she recalled it was called from their music lessons. Surprisingly, the blonde felt oddly felt overwhelmed with emotion. It was like she was finally understanding why people turn to music for comfort. The power in that one song was unbelievable.

Natsu blinked his eyes open. He looked at the keys before a small, almost cocky grin spread across his face. Not to Lucy, to himself - Almost like he'd surprised himself. She'd never seen him smile like that before - It suited him. He swallowed thickly before looking over to the blonde, arching a brow and chuckling at her expression.

"Natsu," Lucy started but had nothing else to say. It seemed her expression said enough because Natsu laughed again.

"It was nothing really, Luce-"

He didn't get another word in before she hugged him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her chin there. She felt him stiffen before turning and slowly snaking his arms around her waist. It was much less awkward than when she had first hugged him, all those months ago. It was nice.

"I'm glad you liked it," he murmured into the blonde's neck. Lucy shook her head. It was hard to put into words how the closeness of him affected her.

"Like it – Natsu, I loved it. That was… That was just - " She couldn't get another word out when she tightened her arms around him.

The blonde slowly came to the realisation that she was still embracing Natsu, and his arms had loosened already. She let go of him abruptly, jumping off the stage and stumbling into the middle of the dim room.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, I – I'm sorry," Lucy went on. She hardly knew what to say. Natsu watched her with an unreadable expression before standing and making his way over to her, causing any words die in her throat.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked as he came to stand before her, much closer than he usually did. "Natsu, what are yo-"

She was stopped by the pair of lips pressing against her own.

Embarrassingly so, Lucy had shared a kiss with that boy when she was fourteen, though it was small and sloppy and sweet.

But Natsu was not sloppy or sweet. He was almost aggressive with his kiss.

And she loved it.

He grabbed her wrists in his large hands before backing her up against the wall, the soft fabric of the curtain softened the impact as his lips slanted against her own. Lucy never knew why that kiss with that boy never made her feel anything. But right now, she finally understood since her not feeling anything was definitely not an issue here.

Her hands, which were on either side of her head as Natsu kept a grip on her wrists against the wall, came loose to tangle in his hair as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. He trailed his hands down her body, grasping her waist almost painfully while he pressed the blonde more firmly against the wall.

Oh. So, this was what she liked.

His tongue tangled with hers and she tilted her head up to kiss him more firmly. As they parted for air, she didn't hesitate to drag his bottom lip between her teeth. Natsu released a growl – A good to honest growl before slamming his lips roughly to hers again, hooking his fingers through the empty belt loops on her jeans to pull her closer.

After a few long moments Natsu pulled back suddenly, almost making Lucy want to groan in annoyance, but his expression stopped her. He jumped a few paces back, a hand running through his hair as he pulled the blonde away from the wall and muttered lowly.

"Someone's coming," He let go of Lucy to put some space between them. Then the doors slammed open.