This is a shorter one, but I think you'll all like it. And as a small treat, I will tell you that in the next chapter you will see more gruff support Gajeel in action, so look forward to that!
As always, thanks for all the love, and happy reading.
It had been three months, and Lucy had still not summoned the courage to talk to Natsu about what he thought of her. She was plenty old enough that she should be able to talk about anything, so why was it so hard to talk about sex? Was her inexperience really so crippling?
They had been working quietly together, she on her sewing and he on some work she'd put together for him. She hadn't done anything for nearly ten minutes before she finally mustered the courage to broach the subject. "Na-"
"So I made a new friend," he said, not meeting her eyes.
Lucy froze before she processed his words. Once she had, she leaned forward and grabbed one of his hands. "Natsu, that's wonderful!"
"Yeah, uh." He gave her a small smile before looking away again. "She's really great. She's smart and really pretty. Beautiful actually. She's a cook at-"
Beautiful actually. Lucy watched as he talked about his new friend and felt her stomach sink as she found herself struggling to hear his words.
Of course he was interested in someone. He was a handsome man, and at his age, most human men would have been interested in a ton of women. Who was she to think he might consider her in that way when there were more readily attainable options in his own world? Someone who was available for more than just a physical relationship. He was the type of person who would want that, someone to cherish and build a life with. Not a goddess who would outlive him by a millennia.
"-so I'm just not sure." He glanced up at her, obviously looking for input.
Lucy struggled to remember what he'd said. Her fingers clutched her work between her hands and she felt her needle dig into her skin. "Wh- what are you not sure about?"
He raised an eyebrow, and she realized he must have already answered that question. "I mean she's great, and she's… shown interest in me, but I kind of already have someone I like."
"Oh?" Lucy's heart thumped hard in her chest. "How come I haven't heard about this mystery woman?"
"Oh, well uh…" He rubbed his hand through his hair. "I guess, because I'm not sure if she's interested. I don't wanna get too excited without knowing for sure, ya know?"
"Well, have you tried asking her?"
Natsu met her eyes and then proceeded to stare at her for a long time. She could see his expression change subtly as he studied her and wondered what was going through his mind. Not for the first time, she considered using her power to read his mind, but she couldn't get past the feeling that she didn't want to invade his privacy like that.
Natsu's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally spoke. "No. I haven't."
"You should," she said with a smile. "There's no way to know if you don't ask." Hypocrite. Lucy ignored the thought as she smiled at Natsu, trying to be encouraging.
"I guess." After another long look, Natsu began to clean up his things.
Lucy watched with a frown. "Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah." Natsu finished and stood, giving her a big smile. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem." Lucy rose as well, careful to hide her bloody palm. "I'll see you next week?"
"Of course." Lucy reached forward and squeezed Natsu's hand, like she usual did before they parted, but this time, Natsu didn't let go. Before she could ask, he stepped forward and got up on tiptoe to kiss her cheek, just under her scar.
Lucy's eyes widened as she lifted a hand to touch the spot. His face was completely red when he pulled away, but he gave her his same wide smile as he waved and left. "See ya, Luce."
At a loss for words, Lucy could only wave as he left, her emotions in a complete whirlwind as her stomach flipped in circles. How was she supposed to react to that? Why had his face been so red? Why had he kissed her?
How was she supposed to wait until next week to get answers?