Hello, everyone !

I'm back with the fifth chapter :D

I hope you enjoy reading this one~

Disclaimer: My deepest gratitude to Mashima Hiro for bringing this wonderful Fairy Tail alive.


"Gray! That's cold!"

"Shut up." Gray growled. "I'm bringing down your temperature, so stop squirming around."

Lucy lowly muttered but complied nonetheless. She lied still on the inn's bed, allowing Gray to work his magic to bring her fever down. Wendy was also working her magic on her. Lucy glanced at Natsu who was standing beside her, wondering what he was thinking about at this moment.

Lucy was still having trouble sleeping and she passed out again after they completed this mission. This would be her third time passing out due to her fever during these past few weeks.

"Lucy-san, your body is under a great exhaustion." Wendy said in worry. "Are you having trouble sleeping lately?"

Lucy let out a small smile. "Uhm… Sort of."

"Lucy." Erza lowly growled. "And why haven't you said anything about that to us?"

Lucy shifted her gaze away in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"You should have told us, Lucy." Gray lightly flicked her forehead. "We are teammates. And above all, we are a family. You don't hide that kind of secrets from your family."

"B—but, it isn't anything big, you know…" Lucy said. "Don't tell me you guys never had any sleeping troubles!"

"But we didn't have any fever because of that to the point of passing out." Gray retorted back.

Lucy gulped her words back down. Well, that was a valid point.

"Lucy-san," Wendy gave Lucy's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I gave you a spell to help you sleeping for tonight, but I strongly suggest you to see Grandine—I mean, Porlyusica-san—tomorrow. She can prescribe some medicine to help fixing your problem."

"I agree." Erza's eyes were full of worry and that made Lucy felt guilty. "You've already given me my third heart attack because you suddenly passed out due to your fever, I don't need the fourth and so on."

Gray nodded in agreement. "We're done with our mission this time, so make sure you get plenty of rest for the rest of the day. Head straight back home, you don't have to return to the guild."

"I'm taking her home with me." Natsu suddenly butted in. "She's most likely going to write her novel once she's back in her apartment, anyway."

"No writing." Erza glared in warning at Lucy. "You have to catch up your sleep."

"Okay, okay." Lucy complied, forcing any idea that is starting to form in her brain right now to be pushed back into somewhere in her mind. "But what do you mean with 'taking me home with you', Natsu?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Exactly as it says. I'm taking you home with me, to my house."

Lucy instantly blushed upon hearing Natsu's reply. "W—what? No way!"

"Lucy…" Happy worriedly eyed his mother figure. "I think it's best if you go home with us. I will make sure that you'll have a wonderful sleep today!"

"And tomorrow, you'll be going to Porlyusica." Gray added. "First thing to do in the morning and not any time later."

Erza brought a hand to her chin to think. "Hmm… That's a good idea, actually. A very good idea. Like Natsu said, Lucy's most likely going to write her story if she returns to her apartment, so I think it's better if she stays with Natsu for today."

"Please make sure she sleeps well tonight, Natsu-san." Wendy said.

"Leave it to me." Natsu nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up!" Lucy waved her hands around. "I'm not going to go back to Natsu's house, okay? I promise—cross my heart—to sleep once I am back to my apartment!"

Erza was a bit hesitant. "Lucy…"

"Celestial wizards always keep their promises." Lucy assured.

"Yeah, but…" Erza was still a bit unconvinced.

"Why are you so against going home with me?" Natsu asked, hurt flashed in his eyes.

"Of course not, stupid Natsu!" Lucy glared embarrassedly at him. "It's not like that! But I have my own house and no matter what, I like my house better than anyone else's house!"

"Hey! It's not just anyone else's house, it's my house!" Natsu protested.

"That's not the point!" Lucy groaned. "My point is, I will be feeling better if I sleep in my own house, okay? I have nothing against your house, I just prefer mine."

Natsu scratched the tip of his nose. "Yeah, I like your house better than mine too."

Gray gave a hard bonk to the back of Natsu's head. "You're distracted!"

"Ouch!" Natsu growled and returned the bonk. "That hurts, ice bastard!"

"It meant to be hurt, flame brain!" Gray growled back.

"What the hell is your problem?" Natsu asked. "Are you looking for a fight?"

"My problem is you got yourself distracted by Lucy's reasoning!" Gray answered.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "But what she said makes sense."

"That's the problem!" Gray groaned. "You were supposed to convince her to come back with you so she can sleep without having any distractions, and yet the reverse happened!"

Natsu blinked a few times as his brain was processing Gray's words. "Yeah, but… I have to admit that her house is much better than mine, though. That's a fact I can't deny."

"Stupid!" Gray growled. "Then how are we going to make sure that she's sleeping?!"

"Of course I'll stay with her in her apartment." Natsu retorted. "Do you think I will just drop her off and leave? I'm not that stupid, you know."

"Hold up!" Lucy instantly butted before Gray had the chance to say something. "What do you mean you're going to stay with me in my apartment?"

Natsu scoffed at Lucy. "Exactly as it says, weirdo. I'm going to make sure that you're sleeping for the rest of the day. And the only way I can do that is by staying at your apartment."

Gray folded his arms and nodded in approval. "That'll do."

"No, no, wait! That's—"

"This topic is no longer up for debate, little sister." Erza glared at Lucy, effectively shutting her mouth. It wasn't often for Erza to call her 'little sister'—Gray addressed her that way more often—and once she addressed her that way, that could only mean that Erza was starting to get annoyed with her antics.

"…Fine." Lucy huffed in defeat.

Erza's smile instantly made its way to her lips. "Alright, then. We should head back right now."

Fortunately, their mission this time wasn't too far from Magnolia. They walked back to the guild, sparing Wendy and Natsu from their motion sickness. Once they had arrived back, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy bid their goodbyes and headed straight to Lucy's apartment.

"I still think it's better if you go home to my house." Natsu said.

"No." Lucy sternly rejected the idea. "I love my bed."

"I love your bed too." Natsu nodded.

"Natsu's bed is quite comfy too, you know." Happy added.

"Then why would the two of you use my bed more often?" Lucy asked.

"Because your bed is obviously more comfortable." Natsu answered.

"Aye!"

Lucy shook her head and sighed lightly. No matter what she said, those two would never budge. But whatever, she wanted her nap so badly this time. Wendy's spell was starting to make her feel drowsy and she didn't want to let this chance go away.

Lucy's house was finally in their sight and Lucy fastened her pace, feeling eager to flop down on her bed as soon as possible. Just then, Natsu's sharp nose caught a peculiar scent. Natsu stopped to take a better whiff, eyebrows furrowed upon smelling the faint scent of gas.

Natsu was wondering why that kind of scent filled the air when his sharp ears caught a crackling sound. He instinctively moved, wrapping his hands around Lucy protectively and jumped into the river in front of her house. A split-second later, an explosion happened.

BOOM!

Lucy gasped, her eyes widened in horror upon seeing her suddenly burning apartment. "What the hell?!" she shrieked.

"Natsu! Lucy! Are you okay?" Happy hovered above the two.

"We're good!" Natsu replied. He stared at the blonde in his arms, making sure that she wasn't hurt at all from the sudden explosion.

After making sure that Lucy was totally fine, Natsu then helped her to come out of the water and willed his magic to dry their clothes. The last thing he wanted to happen right now is Lucy having another fever because she caught a cold. Lucy, however, clearly didn't pay any attention towards what Natsu was doing except towards the burning building.

"What about the other tenants?" Lucy suddenly asked as a realization suddenly hit her. "Do you smell anything?"

"I don't smell any burning flesh." Natsu answered.

Lucy let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness…"

"What did just happen?" Happy asked confusedly. "Why did Lucy's house suddenly blow up?"

Lucy weakly shook her head. "What am I supposed to do now…? All of my clothes are in there, my letters, and even my draft too…! I think I'm going to cry…"

"Whoa, whoa, don't cry!" Natsu said in panic. "We'll sort things out. For now, let's head to the guild, okay? You can take a nap in the infirmary while we're going to figure out what did just happen."

Lucy weakly nodded, fighting back the urge to cry although her tears were already pooling in her eyes. The three then walked back to the guild.


Natsu filled in what happened to the guild while Lucy was taking a nap in the infirmary. She was half-asleep by the time they got there, so Natsu wasted no time and quickly laid her down on the infirmary bed. The rest of his team quickly asked him what was wrong after that and Natsu took the liberty of explaining to the rest of the team.

After hearing his explanation, Mirajane and Lisanna quickly worked with the lacrimas to find more information as well as contacting Lucy's landlady while Jet and Droy went to Lucy's place to inspect the building. They decided to do everything they could during Lucy's nap so they could give her some news once she was awake.

Three hours later, Lucy woke up. Wendy's spell worked wonders and she felt much more refreshed. At first, she was a bit confused on why she was sleeping in the guild's infirmary. But then she remembered about how her building suddenly went up in flames and she quickly got up from the infirmary bed. She walked out of the room and made her way to the guild hall.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Natsu grinned at her, he was the first one who saw her as he sat behind the bar.

"You're awake?" Erza greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." Lucy nodded. "I'm sure Natsu must have told you about what happened, right? Have you told my landlady?"

"Of course, Lucy." Mirajane answered. "You left us her number in case of emergency, after all. We have informed her and she promised to quickly rebuild the building without taking any extra chargse from her tenants."

"Were there any casualties?" Lucy asked. "Natsu said he didn't smell any burning flesh, though…"

"They are all safe." Erza assured. "Jet and Droy had checked it out earlier, the building was empty when the explosion happened."

"What happened? What caused the explosion?" Lucy asked.

"A malfunctioning heating lacrima in one of the tenant's room." Erza answered. "The details are still being investigated for now, but Jet and Droy didn't find anything strange. It is most likely a factory defective product or some sort."

"Thank goodness everyone was okay…" Lucy breathed in relief. "And… Is there anything you can save from my room?"

At this, Erza shook her head grimly. "Come. We need to discuss about this as well. You need another place to stay for the time being while your landlady is rebuilding your apartment."

Lucy was really about to cry upon hearing Erza's answer. Forget about all of those cute outfits she had, her letters to her mother and even her novel's draft had turned into ashes! Of course she could rewrite the draft since she had backed it up in her brain, but how long would it take for her to rewrite each and every word perfectly! Although, she was still thankful for her photographic memory. If it weren't because of that, it would be impossible for her to even rewrite her draft.

About the letters…

She might really cry if she kept thinking about the letters.

"Okay, we need to discuss about where Lucy will be sleeping starting from today." Erza's words brought Lucy back to her senses.

"She can't exactly stay in Fairy Hills since we don't have any vacant rooms at this moment." Mirajane sighed.

"She can crash with me." Levy offered.

"No." Lucy shook her head. "Right now, I don't have any money."

"Lu-chan, you don't have to pay anything!" Levy said. "You're my best friend!"

"Thank you, Levy-chan, but I still can't do that." Lucy smiled apologetically.

"The guild can lend you some money for now, Lucy." Mirajane offered.

"No, of course not." Lucy shook her head even firmer at the suggestion.

"Then, where are you staying?" Levy asked.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows to think. "Hmm…"

"Why the long thought? Just stay with me." Natsu nonchalantly said as he munched a chicken thigh.

Lucy's face blushed. "W—what? No way!"

"Why are you so against living with me, anyway?" Natsu groaned.

"A—absolutely not!" Lucy stuttered out of embarrassment. Damn it, didn't Natsu realize just how important it was for her to live with him? Sure they had feelings for each other and both of them knew about it, but still… Living with him in his house was a huge step in their relationship!

"I don't see why not though." Erza smirked to herself. "Natsu's place is safe for you and you definitely don't have to pay a penny for it."

"Free of bills." Levy added while chuckling.

"B—but…"

"It's settled then!" Natsu grinned.

"Lucy's living with us!" Happy jumped up and down excitedly. Seeing his happy reaction, Lucy finally let out a defeated sigh. Even though the blue Exceed loved to tease her—he and Natsu made a really great pair in teasing her—, she couldn't help but loved him. He was too cute for her, after all.

Actually, living with Natsu wasn't something foreign for Lucy. That fire dragon slayer always crashed into her place, they basically lived together sometimes. But moving to his house and basically spending 24/7 with him for gods-know-how-long was making Lucy nervous. It just felt different in so many ways than him having a sleepover in her place. It didn't help that she loved that rambunctious best friend of hers either.

"Lucy, can I sleep together with you tonight?" Happy suddenly asked, pulling Lucy back to the reality.

"Sure, Happy." Lucy agreed.

Whoops, hold up! If Happy slept with her, then… Wouldn't that mean she would be sleeping with Natsu too?

Lucy's face blushed upon imagining it. Okay, she did indeed sleep together with Natsu a couple of times when he had a sleepover in her house, but all of those moments happened because Natsu snuck into her bed when she was already fast asleep! And if she slept together with him—right from the start, not because of him sneaking into his own bed—wouldn't that mean she would be enveloped with his scent? Now that she thinks about it, wouldn't Natsu's house be full of his scent? She had to spend every single day in a place reeked of Natsu's scent?

Oh dear, could her heart take all of those?

The image of Natsu's abs, the feeling of his strong muscles, his warmth that she was so familiar with, and his smoky scent suddenly crept into Lucy's mind, making her face blushed even more. Thank goodness Natsu was busy talking with Happy. If they realized how red her face is right now… How embarrassing it would be!

Okay, now she's starting to really regret her decision in agreeing to live with Natsu!

I'm going to die out of heart attack sooner or later!, Lucy muttered inwardly.

The view of Natsu's house that came into her view didn't help her hammering heart as well. In fact, her heart hammered against her chest even harder with every step she took as she walked towards the house. Lucy unconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her nervousness was kicking around two-fold.

"We're here!" Natsu excitedly said as he opened the door.

Lucy's mind was momentarily back into its rationality as she eyed the interior of the house. Now that she gets a better look at it, the house was a bit bigger since the last time she came here—which was about a year ago. Lucy looked around at the house, realizing that now Natsu has several rooms. A kitchen and dining room, a living room, a bathroom, and his own bedroom. To her surprise, Natsu really had his own bed in his bedroom. His usual hammock was no longer there. He even had a tub in his bathroom.

"Did you renovate your house?" Lucy asked in amazement. The house is much cozier now.

"Yeah." Natsu scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Decided to make it cozier."

"Great decision." Lucy's eyes glinted. She took a deep breath, she could smell Natsu's scent all over the house.

"You like it?" Natsu asked.

"Absolutely." Lucy nodded without hesitation.

Natsu's wide smile made its way to his lips. "Okay! You can sleep on the bed from now on. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Eh?" Lucy blinked her eyes. "You're not going to sleep on the bed? I'm fine with the couch, though."

"You're sleeping on the bed." Natsu repeated. "The couch isn't that comfortable, anyway, and you need the best sleep I can offer to catch up your lack of sleep."

"It's totally fine, though." Lucy retorted. "I mean, this is your house and this is your bed."

"Nah, I'm good with the couch." Natsu waved his hand.

"You just said that it isn't that comfortable." Lucy pointed.

"F—for you, I mean!" Natsu quickly replied. "I have no problem with it. Besides…"

Natsu then mumbled some incoherent words that Lucy couldn't understand. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What did you say?"

Natsu's cheeks slightly blushed and he hid a bit behind his scarf. "B—besides… I—if I sleep on the bed too, then… We'll be sleeping together…"

Lucy's face blushed upon hearing it. Okay, so Natsu had a similar thought with her. Seemed like this whole 'living together' business didn't only affect her.

"Let him be, Lucy." Happy butted. "He'll sneak into the bed as usual, I bet."

"I won't!" Natsu's blush was more apparent now.

There was a good reason why Natsu loved to sneak into Lucy's bed when she was asleep! As his feelings grew even stronger for her with each day passed, Natsu craved Lucy's presence even more. His craving for her warmth and her scent was too much to the point that he unconsciously sought for it in his sleep. Feeling Lucy's body fitted into his enabled him to go into an even deeper slumber.

It also assured him that she was alive and was by his side.

But now, Natsu is aware of his really close proximity with Lucy. He knew how big his relationship with Lucy would change by asking her to live with him. It was actually something Natsu had been thinking for quite a while, a thought he had been having since he left for his one-year lone training. It was also the reason why he decided to renovate his house a bit, so that it would be cozier by the time Natsu asked Lucy to move in with him.

Natsu was fully aware of how big of a responsibility lying beneath 'asking her to move in with him', because it was a sign of how ready he was to take his relationship with her to a new level. It would be totally different than him having a sleepover at her house. Natsu's house was far from the civilization, her staying here with him meant that there would only be the two of them. And that was a sign of his seriousness towards her, something that Natsu knew Lucy was also aware of. He had been wanting to ask this for a couple of times, but he didn't get the right chance to yet. He tried to when he knew Lucy was having trouble sleeping, but decided it wasn't exactly the right time which was why he ended up agreeing with her to let her go back to her apartment. But when her apartment went ablaze, he decided that it was the right time to ask her.

He inwardly thanked that explosion.

"Uhm… By the way, can we head back to the town to do some shopping?" Lucy asked. "I mean, I don't have any clothes."

"You can use mine." Natsu said as he walked towards the wardrobe in his bedroom.

Lucy's face blushed. "B—but… The… Uhm… Underwear…?"

"We'll buy some tomorrow." Natsu promised, his ears were a bit red upon hearing Lucy's timid question. And due to a certain image of Lucy wearing his shirt that popped into his mind. He quickly shook that imagination away. "In the meantime, just use mine. You need to get plenty of sleep today."

"I'll sleep with you!" Happy offered.

"Do you want to take a bath first? I'll heat the water up for you." Natsu said.

Lucy nodded. A nice soak in a tub filled with warm water sounded great!

Natsu quickly prepared Lucy's bath while Happy tidied up the bed for her. When Lucy finished her soak and slipped into Natsu's comfortable shirt,—which was too big for her, it became a nightdress for her instead. She was amazed at how much Natsu had grown in a year—sleepiness had made its way to her eyes. Lucy stifled a yawn and walked towards the bedroom.

She saw Natsu was preparing the couch for himself.

"Natsu, are you sure you want to sleep here?" Lucy asked as she made her way to him.

"Yep, no prob—" Natsu's words were abruptly cut off as he turned his body to face her but was greeted with the sight of her slender body in his shirt.

She was so beautiful.

Natsu's breath hitched as he fought the urge to nosebleed. Damn it, how did his shirt become so… So… Sexy on her?

Her slightly damp blond hair… Her creamy thighs… Her peeking cleavage… Her flushed face because she had just come out of the bath… And her scent… Dear Mavis, her scent! Natsu took an involuntary whiff and almost groaned. She used his shampoo and his soap, but her scent was still there, mixing deliciously with his own.

Gah!, he screamed inwardly. Stop looking! Stop sniffing! I might die out of heart attack at this rate!

"Natsu?" Lucy blinked in confusion upon seeing Natsu's somewhat shocked expression. He even pinched his nose hard, as if he smelled something weird.

Lucy was sure she didn't smell weird. She used his shampoo and his soap, after all. What could be so weird with that?

Natsu shook his head to regain his composure. "Y—you should go to sleep!"

"Sure, but are you okay with the couch?" Lucy was still a bit unsure.

"Absolutely."

"Okay…" Lucy muttered. "Thanks, Natsu."

"Yeah."

"I'll go to sleep now, then."

"Mm-hmm."

Lucy smiled at Natsu before turning her body around and walked back towards the bedroom. Natsu fought back a groan in his throat as his eyes caught Lucy's swaying hips. When he heard Lucy closed the door to his bedroom, Natsu slumped down on his couch while releasing a breath he had unconsciously held.

Dear lords, she'll be the death of me one day if this keeps up., Natsu groaned inwardly.


It was scorching hot.

It was dark, there was only a pitch-black darkness around her. But even though there was no one else with her, Lucy could feel the scorching heat emanating from all around her. The same heat she felt in her dreams and also when the Book of Kurohei affected her.

As if on cue, that pair of glowing red eyes appeared again.

Lucy's hands twitched, but she couldn't move a muscle. She just stood there—or to be more accurate, she was just floating in the air—as her eyes were locked onto the red eyes. However, a burst of light suddenly appeared from her behind, filling the space around her with warmth she was familiar with.

The warmth of a Celestial light.

But the darkness suddenly returned, pushing the light back. The light was pushed back for a few seconds before it returned with a much stronger force and pushed the darkness away. Then the darkness tried to push the light again, but this time the light held strong. It was as if the Celestial light and the darkness were fighting against each other. It was as if either one was determined to take control of this space.

That glowing red eyes were still there, staring at Lucy and emanating heat towards her from within the darkness.

Whose eyes it belonged to? Why did she keep seeing that pair of glowing red eyes? Why were the light and the darkness fought with each other? What's with this heat she kept feeling?

Lucy's eyes suddenly snapped open and she bolted sat upright. Her forehead was wet with cold sweat and her body felt slightly cold. It took a moment for Lucy to regain her focus back. The moonlight that shone through the window made her realized that she was in Natsu's bedroom. Happy's soft purrs were caught by her ears and Lucy glanced at the sleeping Exceed. Suddenly, Natsu's bedroom felt so cold and a shiver out of fear ran down along her spine.

Lucy carefully got out of the bed and gently opened the door, so she wouldn't awake the others. She carefully walked towards Natsu who looked a bit uncomfortable as the couch was a bit too small for his entire figure. She nervously gripped the hem of his shirt, didn't know what to do nor to say.

She didn't have to though, because Natsu groggily opened his eyes the next second. He couldn't fall into a deep slumber due to his couch and he felt a presence beside him. When his green eyes met Lucy's face, he quickly sat up.

"Luce?" he whispered.

"S—sorry…" she whispered back. "Did I wake you?"

"No, of course not." Natsu stood up, his eyebrows furrowed as he studied her face. He brought a hand up to brush against her cheek. "Are you alright? You're having a cold sweat."

Lucy bit her inner cheeks. "I… I can't sleep…"

"Did you have a nightmare?" Natsu worriedly asked.

"Sort of…"

"Wait here, I'll make you a cup of warm milk."

Lucy tugged the end of Natsu's shirt as he was about to head towards the kitchen. Natsu looked back at her confusedly, making Lucy bit her lower lip in nervousness. "Can you… Sleep with me?"

Natsu's breath hitched and his heart felt like it stopped beating for a split-second before hammering back against his chest so loud he felt like it vibrated through the entire house.

"Luce…"

"I'm scared…"

Those two simple words made Natsu's rationality came back. He quickly took Lucy's hand into his own, while his other hand placed itself under Lucy's chin to lift her face up so she was staring back at him. "Hey," Natsu softly muttered. "you're safe in here. I won't let anything happen to you."

Lucy stared back at Natsu's deep green eyes and found her fear dissipating.

"Mm-hmm." Lucy let out a small nod.

Natsu smiled back and walked back towards the bedroom with his hand still holding Lucy's. He then gently moved Happy further to make space for him and Lucy. Lucy just stood there at the end of the bed as she watched Natsu slipped into the blanket. He then looked back at her and opened his arms.

"Come here."

Lucy's heart was beating way too fast for her own liking, but she didn't care. She slipped into the blanket, into Natsu's waiting arms. Natsu placed his hands on her back and on the back of her head, hugging her body close to him. He tucked her head under his chin and took a generous whiff of her mixed scent with his. He could hear Lucy's fast heartbeat and he was sure Lucy could hear his too. But neither one cared, for they were content enough with being in each other's arms like this. Lucy buried her face to Natsu's chest, shuffling her body even closer to him as she placed her hands on his broad back and hugged him back. Natsu chuckled a bit as her hair tickled his nose when she nuzzled even deeper to him.

Didn't he say one of the reasons why loved Lucy so much was because she loved to cuddle and snuggle?

Natsu gently ran his hand on Lucy's soft locks and he could hear her taking a deep breath. Seemed like it wasn't only him who loved to smell the other party's scent.

"Goodnight, Natsu." Lucy softly said as she slipped into slumber.

Natsu smiled and gently kissed the top of Lucy's head. "Goodnight, Luce."

His own eyes then fluttered close, knowing full well that both of them would have a pleasant sleep tonight.


Done !

A short fluffy NaLu ! :3

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