Hello, everyone !
I'm back with the seventh chapter :D
Enjoy reading~
Disclaimer: My deepest gratitude to Mashima Hiro for bringing this wonderful Fairy Tail alive.
P.S: Fluff alert ! :3
The kiss didn't last for long. Natsu didn't do anything more either, he was just placing his lips on hers. When he pulled apart, Lucy slowly opened her eyes and stared back at him.
"Feeling much calmer?" Natsu softly asked.
"Natsu…" Lucy whispered, blush adorned her cheeks as her rationality came back.
Natsu placed his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath to fill his nose with her scent. "Mind to tell me what your nightmare was?"
Lucy licked her lips that suddenly went dry. Her brain spun to remember, but she couldn't recall anything. Either she really couldn't remember, or what Natsu did earlier just erased it from her memory. She chose to go with the first option. "I… I don't remember."
Natsu didn't pry. He pulled his head apart and smiled at her. "Can I get you that cup of warm milk now?"
"No!" Lucy shook her head. "Don't leave me…"
Natsu's smile widened a bit and he brought her into his arms, placing his chin on her head. One of his hands was gently stoking Lucy's hair while the other was rubbing her knuckles. "Alright, then."
Lucy snuggled even closer to his warmth and took a deep breath of his smoky scent, letting out a content sigh at the comfort he was giving her. They stayed that way for a while in silence, before Lucy decided to break it away.
"Uhm… Natsu… About earlier…" she started in a rather timid voice, which Natsu replied with a short hum. "Uhm… What… What was that?"
"A kiss." Natsu replied blatantly.
Lucy choked a bit out of embarrassment. "R—right… Uhm… Why…?"
"Why did I kiss you, you mean?"
"Y—yeah…"
Natsu lightly scoffed. "I think you already know the answer. What kind of question is that, you weirdo?"
"B—but…"
"Luce," Natsu cut, lifting his head off of her head. She looked up to him with a bright red face and he stared back down at her. "you were clearly too frantic to calm down earlier, so that's the only thing I knew was effective enough."
Lucy's blush worsened as she felt more embarrassed. "S—sorry…"
"No need to apologize, you weirdo." Natsu chuckled, cupping a cheek of hers and gently caressed it. "This time though, I'm kissing you because I want to."
"What—"
Lucy's words were cut off as Natsu leaned in and kissed her again. This time the kiss was more passionate than earlier but as gentle. Lucy quickly melted into the kiss, savoring the taste of Natsu's lips on her.
The kiss didn't last long either and Natsu pulled back a bit. Lucy looked up at him, her breath hitched upon seeing his fogged gaze.
"This time," Natsu's breath was right above her lips. "I'm kissing you because I love you."
Natsu leaned to kiss her again and Lucy melted into it instantly. All of the hesitations and doubts they had just disappeared. Right now, they want nothing more than to pour out all of the love they have been keeping inside towards each other. It showed through their much more passionate kiss this time. Their eyes were closed tight as they melted into the embrace of one another. Natsu licked Lucy's lips, earning a gasp from her. He wasted no time and darted his tongue inside, his mouth swallowed Lucy's soft moan. He placed his hand on her back and the back of her head, while Lucy's hands were snaking around his neck and her fingers were tugging at the end of his hair. Natsu softly groaned in pleasure and deepened the kiss.
Dear Mavis, how long the two of them had been dreaming of this.
This time, the kiss lasted until the two of them broke apart due to their need of air. Their foreheads were placed against each other's, their chests huffed up and down in a hurried attempt to catch some air.
"Gods, I love you, Lucy." Natsu whispered, his breath was still panting.
"I love you too, Natsu." Lucy whispered back, she was also still struggling to breathe in her normal rhythm. A soft chuckle then escaped her lips. "I don't know why it took us so long to kiss."
Lucy's words, however, brought some rationality back to Natsu's mind. He cupped her cheeks and stared at those pair of chocolate orbs he loved so much. "Luce, I'm not good with words, so bear with me."
"Okay." Lucy let out a small chuckle, her hands were still snaking around Natsu's neck. Her instinct told her that whatever Natsu was going to say was something serious, but she was no longer feeling conflicted. She was ready. Ready to have the talk with Natsu, ready to start the next step with him, ready to share her future together with him. Her conviction was getting even stronger when she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from Natsu's deep green eyes.
Natsu chuckled and rubbed the tip of their noses affectionately. "First of all, I want you to know that I love you so much. There are no words nor numbers that could define how much I love you. You are my best friend, my partner, my lover, my soulmate, my everything. I wouldn't want to share my future with anyone else but you."
Lucy blushed upon hearing Natsu's words, his voice was full of love and honesty. Her attention, however, got stuck in a particular word Natsu said. "Where did you get to know the word 'soulmate'?"
"Igneel taught me." Natsu answered. "It's what the dragons used to describe their partners."
Lucy hummed. "I see…"
"I think that word is the best term to describe us." Natsu continued. "The term 'boyfriend-girlfriend' sounds somewhat wrong to me."
"Me too." Lucy agreed. "And 'soulmates' sounded more romantic, too."
Natsu chuckled a bit before his expression became serious. "Lucy, there's something you have to know about a dragon's soulmate."
"What is it?"
"Dragon Slayers are pretty much the same as the dragons in this kind of thing." Natsu said. "We chose our partner for life, Lucy."
"Does that mean you can only fall in love once in your life?" Lucy curiously asked.
Natsu shook his head. "There's no limit to how much a dragon slayer can fall in love during his or her life. But if their love is reciprocated, then that's it. They wouldn't be able to fall in love with another anymore for the rest of their lives."
"Then, how many times have you fallen in love already?" Lucy asked.
"You're the only one." Natsu solemnly said. "And I must be one hell of a lucky dragon, because once is all I needed to find my partner."
Lucy laughed softly. "I'm a lucky one too in that sense."
"Now, here's the tricky part, Lucy." Natsu let out a little sigh. "You can still back away before I officially make you mine."
Lucy blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, we chose our partner for life. I won't be able to fall in love again since you've reciprocated my feelings, but you still have a choice, Luce. If you want to, you can back away now and you are free to fall in love with another man. However, once I mated with you as my partner and marked you, then we are stuck with each other for eternity."
Lucy let out a small scoff, pushing away a blush that was creeping onto her cheeks as she processed the word 'mated' and 'marked'. "I don't think I want to fall in love with another guy, though."
"Think about this carefully, Luce." Natsu said. "If you agree to be my partner, if you accept me—both physically and mentally speaking—, then you'll be stuck with me."
"I'm pretty much stuck with you already." Lucy pointed out.
"I know, but this time it's going to be for eternity." Natsu emphasized.
Lucy nodded. "I have no problem with that."
"Are you sure?"
"I believe in you since the first day you brought me to the guild, remember?" Lucy let out the smile that Natsu loved so much. "That means I believe in your feelings for me, I believe in us. So, yes, Natsu, I'm sure. As sure as I can ever be."
"Luce…"
"Besides, we're soulmates, right?" Lucy added. "How can I be your soulmate if I'm not sure?"
"Are you sure you won't regret it?"
"How can I regret my decision of being with you, silly?" Lucy scoffed. "Now you're the weird one."
"Luce, I won't be able to let you go from now on. Not that I want to. And you can't get away from me either." Natsu lowly growled.
"I don't want to run away from you either." Lucy agreed. "Hold me tight, Natsu. You don't have other choices anyway since you're stuck with me."
"Wouldn't have it the other way." Natsu grinned and leaned in to claim her lips again.
All of their piling up tension and feelings all these years—especially for the past two months—could no longer be hidden. Natsu slowly laid Lucy down on her back, their lips never leaving each other. It only took them a split-second to catch their breaths before their lips met again. Natsu lifted up Lucy's legs and wrapped them around his waist, bringing their bodies even closer than before.
Natsu broke apart the kiss and stared at Lucy, the love and the lust flashing in his eyes melted Lucy down to her bones. He didn't say a word, but Lucy knew he was asking for her final permission. The question was so apparent in his eyes. And her answer this time would finalize everything.
Will you bear my mark of eternity?
Lucy didn't say anything either, but she knew Natsu knew what her answer was as he groaned lowly upon seeing her own eyes which she knew wasn't any different than his. He claimed her lips one more time, his hands started to leave hot trails all over her body. He could no longer hold his feelings for Lucy, not when her eyes were answering him with such a strong conviction.
Yes, Natsu, I'm yours for eternity.
Natsu's lips finally left Lucy's and he shifted to her neck. He gave butterfly kisses all over her neck, his ears twitched in delight upon hearing Lucy's mewls and moans. He groaned out in pleasure, heat was exploding from within their bodies.
Thank goodness Happy wasn't here.
Lucy's consciousness slowly kicked in as her cheek was getting warmer and warmer. She groggily opened her eyes and squinted them to focus her sight. The beautiful memory of what happened last night came back to her and she smiled to herself as she stared at the sleeping dragon slayer beside her.
Natsu's sleeping face looked so serene and peaceful. Lucy lifted her body up a bit to brush his hair and planted a kiss on his forehead. She gently caressed his cheeks, inwardly thanking that explosion for getting her and Natsu to this step.
Her actions stirred Natsu awake from his slumber and he groggily opened his eyes. A smile made its way to his lips as his eyes caught her stare. Her loving stare at him was more than enough to melt his heart.
"Morning, beautiful." Natsu sleepily greeted.
"Morning, Natsu."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
"You're not feeling sore? It doesn't hurt?"
Lucy giggled. "No, Natsu. You were so gentle yesterday, of course I won't be sore."
"That's good to hear." Natsu sighed in relief and brushed Lucy's hair aside to see his mark on her neck. He smiled in satisfaction.
"Do you like it?" Lucy chuckled.
"Nothing is better than seeing my mark there." Natsu confirmed.
"Could everyone see this mark?" Lucy curiously asked.
Natsu shook his head. "It'll disappear in 24 hours. Other dragon slayers could tell that you're my mate from your scent, so the mark isn't necessary for them to see."
"So… Basically, I'm going to smell like you from now on?"
"Sort of." Natsu chuckled. "It's a mix of yours and mine, to be more exact."
Lucy tapped her chin to imagine. "A… Smoky vanilla? What kind of smell is that?"
"A delicious one if you ask me." Natsu grinned as he brought down Lucy's neck and nuzzled to it. He breathed in their mixed scent that was wafting from her and planted a kiss on his mark.
Nothing could beat such satisfaction as this one.
Lucy moaned a little at Natsu's actions, her fingers absent-mindedly stroke his spiky pink hair. "So… Once 24 hours had passed, I don't get to see your mark anymore?"
"It will appear every time you're in danger." Natsu whispered, his mouth is now planting butterfly kisses all over Lucy's neck.
"How so?" Lucy asked, stifling a moan as Natsu kissed a soft spot on her neck a bit harder. She pulled her neck away at the next second, making Natsu pouted a little at the sudden loss of contact. He glanced up at her in a slight disapproval while Lucy cheekily stared back at him. "You're distracting me. Tell me more about the mark first."
"It's a proof of connection between the dragon slayers and their mates." Natsu nevertheless complied. "Whenever you're in danger, the mark will appear to let me know where you are. That way, I can always find you wherever you are."
"Hmm… I can't play hide and seek with you then due to this mark." Lucy chuckled.
"Like I said, you can't get away from me." Natsu grinned back.
"Why did you have to mark me on the neck, though?" Lucy asked. "Is it your preference or it must be placed there?"
"The latter." Natsu wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist securely. "Though left or right side is up to the dragon slayer's preference."
"What makes you prefer the left side?" Lucy asked.
"It's close to your heart." Natsu cheekily grinned. He then caressed the mark gently, his eyebrows furrowed a bit. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"
"No." Lucy assured. "Does it supposed to be hurt?"
"Igneel said some could feel a stinging pain which lasted for a couple of days." Natsu answered. "I was worried about that, also about the pain of mating for the first time… I was quite hesitant because of that. I hate the idea of hurting you."
"You can never hurt me." Lucy rubbed the tip of their noses affectionately. "You're being weird. Did I pass on my weirdness to you?"
Natsu laughed. "Guess so."
"So, are there other special properties of this mark?" Lucy asked.
"Such as?"
"I got to read your mind or something like that." Lucy chuckled.
"I don't think you need my mark for that." Natsu chuckled back. "But yeah, there are other special properties of it. It makes you immune of my element and we can transfer our magic power to each other in case of emergency."
"I'm fireproof, now?" Lucy giggled. "That's pretty wicked."
"Yeah, you don't even need Erza's armor." Natsu agreed.
"Wait a minute, if Gajeel claimed Levy-chan, then… She's going to be iron-proof?" Lucy wondered. "What does it feel like to be iron-proof, anyway?"
Natsu groaned. "Can you please not talk about some other guys?"
"What? Don't tell me you're jealous."
"I am, weirdo."
"Hey, Gajeel's one of your nakamas!" Lucy chuckled in disbelieve.
"He's still another guy." Natsu reasoned. "Dragon slayers are monogynous, Luce, and very territorial. We are possessive over our mates, and we easily got jealous. Especially if you brought up another dragon slayer's name."
"You're fine with Gray." Lucy pointed out.
"Do you know how much I've self-hypnotized myself so that I'm fine with him hanging around you?" Natsu gawked. "At least he's not a dragon slayer, so my jealousy toned down quite a lot."
Lucy laughed heartily. "Oh my Mavis, this is hilarious. I thought you are fine with other guild members."
"They're the only ones I can tolerate." Natsu agreed. "But when we're alone, please don't bring up other guys' names. Not even Loke. Don't you dare call him when we're alone."
"Why would I call him when we're alone, stupid!" Lucy slapped his tanned chest. "But alright, I wouldn't want you to bring up other girls' names either when we're alone."
"The only girl's name I would mention is yours, weirdo." Natsu smirked.
Lucy chuckled and leaned down to kiss him. Natsu instantly melted into the kiss, his hands were firmly planted on Lucy's waist. He swiftly turned their position over without breaking their kiss, he laid Lucy down on her back and his naked body hovered over her own.
He broke apart their kiss to catch some air. "I love you, Luce."
Lucy caressed Natsu's cheek as her other hand entangled itself within his locks. "I love you too, Natsu."
Natsu sighed contentedly and leaned in to kiss her again. What a perfect way to start his day.
"I'm home!" Happy opened the door and flew inside.
"Over here, little buddy." Natsu's voice rang from the kitchen.
Happy flew towards the kitchen, his eyes lit up upon seeing a fresh plate of raw fish on the table. What a perfect time, his stomach had been growling ever since he left Wendy's place. Happy sat down on the table and started to munch on a fish.
He looked up at Natsu who was waiting for Lucy to finish cooking breakfast, his eyebrow was raised in a slight confusion. "You look happy this morning, Natsu."
"Hm? I am." Natsu smirked.
Happy instantly snickered knowingly. "Did something happen to you two?"
Lucy's breath choked while Natsu's smirk widened. "She's mine."
Happy's jaw dropped, the fish which he had been munching flopped down onto the table. "YOU'VE CLAIMED HER?!"
Lucy almost flipped her pancake out of the pan, while Natsu simply nodded at Happy's question and grinned. "Yesterday."
Happy's eyes glinted in pure happiness. "FINALLY!"
Lucy quickly turned her head to face happy, her face was as red as a boiled lobster. "H—how did you even know about something like that, Happy?!"
"Natsu told me of course." Happy answered innocently.
Lucy stared at her mate in disbelieve. "You told Happy about things like that?"
"He's old enough to understand." Natsu defended.
"And I'm Natsu's partner!" Happy added. "Partners don't hide secrets from each other!"
Lucy groaned as she mentally face-palmed herself. She couldn't believe Happy actually knew about something like this! This is so embarrassing!
"I want to see the mark!" Happy flew towards Lucy and nuzzled to her neck. "Where is it? Where is it?"
Lucy laughed a bit. "Happy, that tickles!"
"Let me see the mark!" Happy pleaded curiously.
Lucy smiled and tilted her neck to a side, allowing the other side to be fully seen by Happy. Natsu lowly groaned upon seeing her stretched neck, he suddenly had the urge to kiss that beautiful neck of his mate all over again.
"Oooooh, pretty!" Happy's eyes widened in amazement.
Lucy's mark was a dragon-shaped tattoo—the basic shape for the marked mates—but it was surrounded with a mix of red and yellow circle. It was the perfect symbol for Natsu's fire and Lucy's Celestial light.
A thought suddenly crossed Happy's mind. "Wait a minute… If Natsu already claims you, then that means you will be living with us from now on, right?"
Lucy's eyes softened at Happy's excited big eyes. "Yes, Happy."
"Hurray!" Happy nuzzled into Lucy's chest and she rubbed his head back. "Now we're truly a family!"
Natsu and Lucy chuckled at his happiness, before staring at each other and grinned. Yep, they were truly a family right now and they couldn't wait to share their future together.
Life was perfect.
When Natsu and Lucy went to the guild, Happy rattled out instantly to the rest of the guild about them. Gray and Erza gave Lucy a happy hug and patted Natsu's back proudly—as well as threatening him to never make Lucy cry or they would give him a hell to pay—while Levy squealed and bear-hugged her best friend. Wendy also hugged Lucy while crying out of happiness. Mirajane even passed out behind the bar out of happiness because her most favorite couple finally got together. The master declared the day as a national holiday for the guild and threw a celebration party. And for that day only, no brawls erupted in the guild.
Turns out, Natsu and Lucy's love story was such a significant event in Fairy Tail.
Done !
I LOVE FLUFFY NALU ! :3
I wish I can end the fic right here, but I'm sorry. My imagination got something else for them instead *teehee*
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