Hello! Thank you for your patience, hope you all enjoy this second chapter!

Forgot to mention previously that obviously I don't own Fairy Tail even if it's my LIFE. xD

xx


There was much in life to be enjoyed but for Lucy, it was always the simple things that brought the most satisfaction.

A nice hot bath being at the top of her list, for example.

She sunk herself further into the water, willing the heat and steam to provide her the deep comfort she usually sought after in her rare moments of stress.

"I'm saying he's your soulmate."

Lucy huffed at the memory of Levy's words.

Natsu Dragneel? Her soulmate? Just the mere concept of the fire dragonslayer and romance put together was preposterous, let alone with her in the equation.

She replayed the events of their first meeting repeatedly in hopes to deny Levy's claims but faced with such simple logic, she found her efforts to be futile.

Was it really possible?

Lucy sighed as she put her head back against the bathtub and closed her eyes.

Thoughts of her partner and how far they had come along flitted to the surface. They were older now, more mature and stronger, both as individuals and as a team. She snorted a little, for despite his age and experience, Natsu was still a goofball ready to pull another prank on her with Happy.

She thought of him. There was no escaping the matter of his looks – Natsu Dragneel was an especially fine specimen. Fairy Tail men had a reputation for harbouring a fair share of good looking men, many of whom had a dedicated fan following (much to Juvia's chagrin – though she somehow turned it around and proclaimed herself as President of the Fullbuster Fan Club).

And Natsu was no exception to this. With his wild salmon hair, sharp set of eyes and toothy grin, it was a wonder people didn't swoon over his boyish charm.

Despite said charm, Lucy recognised the changes brought with age. His face was more defined, cheekbones more pronounced and his eyes spoke of battles fought and won.

His body too, Lucy admitted, had filled out more. The ridge of his muscles were more appreciable, easily noticed despite having most of his upper body covered save for his right sleeve – still much more preferable, his previous choice of an open vest made for severe distraction, not that she would dare breathe a word of this alive.

His hands though… Lucy smiled at the thought of them.

Where most people would find sexual enticement from eyes, mouth, shoulders or stomach, Lucy always felt drawn to hands. In her opinion, there was much to glean off a person's hands, and Natsu's held so much history.

They were arguably larger than hers, always encasing her with warmth whenever he held it. Lucy felt they were safe hands, ready to fight and protect those precious to him. She remembered how in her moments of vulnerability, Natsu would be there to pull her up, his grip sure and steady to help keep her grounded.

The texture of them, calloused from endless trainings and fights. They were hands that pushed themselves to the limit, over and over, to ensure the safety of his nakama and repel those with cruel intentions.

She could imagine them now. The times he would grip her hands softly to get her attention. She could imagine them as he brushed a strand of hair from her face and trail his fingers down her back. One hand gripping her waist firmly (preferably against a wall), while the other entangled itself in her hair, tilting her head up and ready to ravish –

Lucy let out an indignant squawk and sat upright in her bath, water spilling over the tub from her sudden movement. She blushed furiously and mentally scorned herself – did she just fantasise about Natsu?

So much for a hot bath to ease her mind!

She hastily rinsed herself off, choosing to ignore the sensation her creative mind left in her lower belly and grabbed her towel to dry her body before wrapping it around her frame securely.

One last look in the mirror assured her she would be just fine. Feeling more composed she grabbed the door handle to make her way out and moved her way towards her bedroom, not noticing the two figures sat on the sofa behind her.


"Come on Happy, hurry up!"

"I'm trying Natsu but I don't wanna make too much noise or Lucy will hear us!"

Natsu waited patiently while the blue Exceed fumbled with the lock on Lucy's window and wondered aloud for the umpteenth time why she bothered locking it when they always broke in.

"Maybe she wants to keep all the fish to herself? She's always been a weirdo like that." Happy chimed in. "Ah, I've got it!" He exclaimed as he managed to jimmy open the window.

"Well done, Happy! Now we just got to sneak in like ninjas and wait to surprise her." Natsu said, hopping into the apartment after the cat.

He closed the window behind him and with a quick look around, took note of the desk where Lucy would usually toil over her novel. Upon closer inspection, he saw some scrunched-up papers laid around with a few on the floor by the bin. Those that weren't rumpled had lots of unfinished sentences, unintelligible scribbles with lots of words crossed out.

Happy plopped on his head and looked down at the messy desk. "Wow, Lucy must be in one of those moods again…"

Natsu murmured in acknowledgement and made his way over to the sofa located by the bathroom. Judging by the steam pouring out and the soft, sweet smell of bath salts coming from there, he could only guess that was where Lucy currently was.

Was it him or did she add a different product in her bath too? Some sort of spice, perhaps…

Shaking his head, Natsu gave up on his observation – Lucy had tons of lotions and potions, he simply had no hope in keeping up. At least they weren't too overpowering now; Natsu made sure to blaze those that burned his nose (her 'midnight rainbow' shampoo not only made no sense, it was pure nastiness), which sure as all had Lucy throw a raging fit until she understood his reasons and conceded to keep all scents as natural as possible.

Rather, he chose to ponder on Happy's earlier point. The clues from her desk indicated genuine frustration, often brought on by the occasional writer's block (why she couldn't just punch through it, Natsu still doesn't know), although rarely would it cause such a mess and usually, she would have written a few paragraphs.

This was something different.

Throughout the years of their friendship, Natsu had uncovered most – if not all – of the blonde's moods. They certainly weren't as volatile as Juvia's (no, she was a whole different level altogether), nor as violent as Erza's (he shuddered at the thought), but he was confident handling whatever his partner threw his way.

He supposed it was instinctual, in a way. Natsu could never quite explain it – not that he ever bothered to – but he had an uncanny ability of knowing what temperament she was in. Admittedly, this didn't often translate into understanding how to deal with it. He winced a little at the memory of Lucy's room after his return from his year-long training, full of detailed maps and information on the scattered members from the then disbanded guild. He would never forget the smell of her hurt during the first few days.

"Natsu, are you okay? Your face looks weird like Lucy…" Natsu looked down at Happy who had both his paws rest on either side of his face with a worried look.

He pulled a grin and dropped a hand on the Exceed's head. "Fine and dandy, buddy. Maybe Lucy is rubbing off on me?" he chuckled.

Happy looked horrified and was about to retort a sassy remark when Natsu heard water splashing.

He made a shushing signal to Happy and both waited for Lucy to emerge from the bathroom for a routine surprise, one that would hopefully help divert her away from whatever frustration she felt.

Really, it never failed to amuse him how easy it was to sneak up on her. It made the 'Lucy kicks' so worth it.

The door swung open and Natsu was momentarily taken aback by Lucy's appearance, entranced with the view of her body wrapped in the flimsiest excuse of a towel.

Did they all shrink in the wash or something?

She hadn't noticed them yet, a focused look on her face and he took the opportunity to study the sight.

Natsu wasn't blind, nor was he stupid. He knew full well what the male population thought of his partner and he couldn't deny she was beautiful. To begin with, he was aware she was attractive and oftentimes he would quietly seize as many moments to appreciate her when she wasn't looking. Call him creepy, but even as a child Natsu knew to hold admiration for pretty things (not that she was a thing, gods no).

Everything about her screamed grace and beauty with a natural charm. Truthfully, it was her feisty personality, ready to whip any unsuspecting person with her wit and humour that made her all the more captivating in his opinion. Lucy was funny and quirky, albeit a little clumsy. She also possessed a heart of gold, something Natsu had born witness to on several occasions.

She was a spitfire alright, brave and steadfastly loyal to her nakama.

He was quickly brought out of his musings when he saw Lucy shuffle through her drawers, her hands reaching towards the towel, presumably so she could put some clothes on.

Trying not to panic (because a 'Lucy kick' would be the least of his worries if she thought he purposefully spied on her naked), Natsu pointedly looked at Happy and made his move.

"Yo, Lucy!"


Lucy was not ashamed at the banshee worthy scream she let out.

She whipped around to find both her partner and his exceed doubled over in mirth at her expense.

"MAVIS FUCKING VERMILLION! NATSU! HAPPY! What the hell are you two doing here?!" Lucy shrieked while grabbing onto the front of her towel.

"Oh man, Luce! Your face!" Natsu guffawed. "It never gets old!"

Lucy resisted the strong urge to kick him unless she wanted to give him an open view. Why hadn't she thought to bring a change of clothes with her to the bathroom? It could've meant instant retribution, much more satisfying than watching them laugh at her.

Now that she had calmed down a bit, Lucy felt her ire deflate and gave an exasperated sigh. As much as they pushed her buttons with their endless pranks, she never truly could be mad at them.

She pouted and settled both hands on her hips.

"Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you to stop climbing through the windows and start using the door like any normal human being?" Lucy grumbled.

"But Luuushi, it's no fun that way!" Happy quipped. He flew over to her and softly landed on her chest, head nestled comfortably between her breasts as he was wont to do. This would have earned him a smack in the past but by now Lucy was used to his antics, reflexively bringing her left arm to cradle him and using her right hand to stroke his head. He purred softly in response and looked up at her with his big wide eyes.

"Besides, you were taking aaaages in the bath. We got bored!"

Natsu took this moment to get up from the sofa. "Yeah Luce, we thought you'd never get out of there! I've been waiting to take a leak, almost had to in the kitchen sink." He smirked.

Lucy's eyes widened in horror and this time she reached for the nearest item (a brush, how original, he thought) and threw it at him.

"That's disgusting, Natsu! You're saying it as if you've done it before!" She yelled at him.

He looked at her squarely with a profoundly serious set of eyes and she stilled. Seconds ticked by as her dread augmented.

Please, surely, he never!

The tremble of his lips was a dead give away to yet another one of his pranks. She shouted profanities at him and found more items to lob his way as he cackled and ran into the safety of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.


Natsu snickered some more before turning around to attend to his business, but no sooner had he taken a step had his senses overwhelmed him.

Eyes grew wide and nostrils flared at the scent currently smothering him from the remnant steam wafting around the room, no doubt from Lucy's earlier bath.

This was new. Natsu had never encountered anything like it. While he may not know the names of Lucy's every bath product, he was generally able to differentiate the odours. This smelled like Lucy, her usual mix of sweetness (like honey and peaches, something so… Lucy), though this was thicker, headier and with an added spice he could not recognise.

Whatever it was made his body tingle and shiver unexpectedly. It brought sensations of heat that coursed through him like a gentle simmer, small licks of flame dancing under his skin.

Natsu gasped through his mouth and felt his body tense even further.

If he found the new smell intoxicating, then the taste – dear Mavis…

His heart beat frantically as he tried to regain control of his senses. He brought his hands to cover both his mouth and nose though he couldn't resist the temptation of savouring a few more breaths.

It wasn't until Natsu felt a different kind of stirring - down there - did he reel back in alarm and decide on a course of action.

He rapidly turned the tap on in the sink and splashed a handful of cold water on his face. He jerked slightly at the freezing temperature, but it did wonders to alert him and helped him concentrate to remain calm.

Holding his breath, Natsu made sure he was clear to leave and turned the tap off, not bothering to use the toilet as he originally came to do. He just knew he had to get out, and fast.

As soon as he left and closed the door behind him, Natsu ran to the nearest window and opened it, greedily gulping fresh air. He panted, scrambling to get his thoughts together and process what had just happened.

Belatedly, he realised he had probably caused a scene, but Happy's chattering followed closely by Lucy's giggles in the kitchen eased his mind.

Natsu let out a relieved sigh, tension leaving his body in small waves. He closed the window and wiped a hand over his face, one thought on his mind:

What in flamin' hell was that?


A big thank you to my reviewers so far: bluedragneel0, Ember Reverie, cookienom, valerioux, savwafair, mdot911, fox0920 and guest (whoever you are!) - they really brightened my day!

Just to keep you all in the loop, I've written a few more chapters though the story is far from complete. It's looking like it could be just over ten as it stands! As such I won't be posting too often, maybe once a week for now, don't want to end up posting it all in too short a time then end up going hiatus. Hopefully I can keep up with the pace...

Please review, they help motivate me to continue and give me an idea what works and what doesn't.

Hope you're all keeping safe! x