Chapter 1: I love you Lucy
Her hand reached out to grab onto some rock pulling herself up as she climbed further up, feeling the fatigue of the past few days starting to catch up to her. Adjusting her footing she pushed herself up moving a little higher, taking hold of another rock, grumbling under her breath about her teams' choice of job. She adjusted her position again, reaching out for the next rock, startled to see a hand suddenly in front of her face. Her eyes followed up the path of the lightly tanned skinned arm to the warm smile of her best friend and partner.
"Here Luce" He offered and she smiled, taking hold of his hand, feeling a burst of heat engulf her hand as he pulled her up and onto the plateau, the heat moving towards her waist as he steadied her. Opening her mouth to thank him, she paused noticing his furrowed brows. "Jeez, you're freezing cold."
Rolling her eyes and resisting the urge to cuddle into her partner for more warmth "That's because we're climbing a mountain Natsu." She retorted and made her way to the rest of her team. "The air up here is much cooler than near the ground so of cour –"Her voice was suddenly muffled, warmth surrounding her face, she watched as he wrapped it around her.
"Use this to keep warm." She noticed his eyes briefly drop to take in her attire, his lips twitching to hide his amusement. "You should have dressed warmer though." His hands dropping he smiled at her.
"A-Are you sure?" She asked, uneasy with his gesture. She knew how much he valued his scarf even after all this time. He gave a short nod.
"Yeah! Besides, it's not like I'm going to get cold. I'm a fire dragon slayer after all." His wide boyish grin had her eyes darting in another direction, grateful it was cool enough up here to hide the blush on her face.
"Thanks." She mumbled out, following him as they joined the rest of their team.
"Alright! Let's get on with this job!" He yelled enthusiastically and she had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. If he'd heard her, he was more likely to start doing something he shouldn't, like rush ahead, despite Erza's protest.
"Can it, flame brain." Gray barked out. The stellar mage winced; she should have expected that, Gray still couldn't stop poking at the slayer every chance he got.
"What was that ice princess?" He growled out, glaring at Gray, readying for a fight.
This was going to be a disaster wasn't it?
"Knock it off both of you." Erza's commanding voice had the duo once more taking a step back waiting for what was next. "It looks like we still have a little way's to go before we reach our destination. If we keep at our current pace we should be there in a few hours. Let's go."
Erza moved to begin climbing the mountain again and Lucy suppressed the urge to groan in frustration. She was exhausted and on the brink of starvation and to top it off she was on the verge of becoming a human Popsicle. Resisting the shiver that ran down her spine the celestial mage continued to climb the mountain with her teammates, wishing Natsu was just a little nearer so she could feel the heat rolling off of him. That was one of the numerous things she loved about her fire dragon slayer partner, he was incredibly warm and her favorite thing to cuddle with in the winter.
Adjusting the scarf around her face the blonde felt heat rise to her cheeks and stole a quick glance toward the pink haired fire breather much further up than she. His sweet gesture had her heart skipping a beat and giving her that false hope yet again. She maneuvered herself, taking hold of something solid not too far from her grasp, pulling herself upward as she slowly moved up the mountainside.
A soft sigh left her, the familiar bubbling of frustration beginning to rise. Natsu irritated her to no end with his idiocy, left her full of rage when he destroyed any chance at getting a decent reward, exasperated and in tears when he consistently broke into her apartment gorging on her fridge full of food yet despite it all he would somehow redeem himself by doing something that left her in awe. The negative emotions swept away and her heart had managed to get taken out to tide with them.
The stellar mage had her heart stolen before she was ready to fully give it and no matter how much she tried she hadn't been able to take it back. It found its way to her best friend and partner, trapped within his grasp. Shaking away her thoughts she pushed her emotions to the side, reminding herself to stay focused on the job, a nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her that one way or another this would end in total chaos..
-x-
Lucy sat staring at the vast expanse of damage, if she had a jewel for every sinking feeling she got while on a job with her team she probably wouldn't have to go out on any jobs ever again. A snort left her doubtful of that ever happening as she continued to survey the area; once again the damage had been caused by the flame eating buffoon known to many as Natsu Dragneel. By some miracle Lucy had managed to keep her composure, the loss of money and the desire to kick the every loving hell out of Natsu remained under wraps. No it wasn't a miracle, this was simply inevitable.
Settling for just finally getting off of this stupid mountain the blonde pushed herself up and onto her feet, hissing as pain seared up her leg and she knew she had predictably injured herself to some degree. "At least it's only my ankle." She grumbled mentally.
"Luce!" The panicked sound of her best friend's voice had her clenching her jaw tight, unwilling to let the bane of her existence torment her any further. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She breathed out, steadying herself as she pressed her foot to the ground, gaging how much weight she could put on it before the pain became unbearable.
"Lucy." Turning to Natsu she took in his crouched position, his onyx eyes looking at her worriedly over his shoulder. Huffing she shuffled over to him, her arms sliding around his neck, tightening their hold as he stood up, lifting her a little higher to support her better.
"Thanks." She whispered as the group began their journey down the mountain.
~.~
Her arms tightened just the slightest around his shoulders as she rested against his back, the immense heat coming off of him allowing her circulation to slowly return to normal. A sigh of contentment left her and she half mulled over the option to invite him over tonight to sleep in her bed so she could warm up faster.
"Luce? You doing okay?" He mumbled out and she nodded her head tiredly.
"Just –"She cut herself off with a yawn. "Warm"
"How's your ankle?"
"It's fine." The pain had indeed subsided and she barely noticed anything unless he jostled her in trying to keep his hold on her.
"Sorry." Lucy's eyes slowly blinked open, confusion taking over her face at his sudden apology.
"There's nothing to apologize for. It's not my first time being injured on a job." She reminded him.
"Right"
Puzzled by his sudden drop in mood Lucy shifted, trying to catch a glimpse of his profile to give her any indication of what was happening in her partner's head, failing as he shifted her again, as if to keep her from seeing his face. Letting it go for the moment she returned to her previous position, holding onto the flame eater just the slightest bit tighter.
When they arrived at the train station Natsu had been careful in helping her to her seat, taking the seat next to hers, sitting closer than he normally sat. During their journey back home Erza had informed her of their reward situation though Lucy remained unbothered by it as it was like this nearly every time her team went out for a job. Though she still couldn't help but think about all the money missed because of their antics.
Turning toward the window she rested her head against the glass, watching the scenery pass, her fingers running through the soft pink hair of her partner. Hopefully when they returned there would be a job posted that paid decently that she could take alone.
Their arrival in Magnolia had gone as it usually did; Erza lifted the nauseated Natsu off of her by his shirt, dragging him off the train and into the station, Gray offering a helping hand before they joined the rest of the team, Lucy feeling a little guilty as they hadn't waited for the usually energetic slayer to gather his composure before they continued into town to head to their respective homes.
The stellar mage sighed softly, glad to finally be home, thanking Gray for helping her to her apartment, giving him a small wave before entering her unit, closing the door behind her. As carefully as she could manage she hobbled her way to her chair, flopping onto the furniture in relief. Glancing around she tried to recall where she had placed her communication lacrima, whining as she spotted it on her desk.
Huffing in frustration the blonde pushed herself up, struggling to keep from stepping on her injured ankle too much, finally falling into her desk chair upon reaching it. Grabbing her lacrima she called Wendy, hoping the young slayer was available to take a look at her ankle.
"Hello?" Smiling at the blue haired girl she greeted her in return.
"Hello Wendy, how are you?"
"Lucy!" She called cheerfully. "I'm doing well. How are you?"
"Alright. I just got back from a job." She smiled sheepishly as a look of concern crossed Wendy's features.
"Did you hurt yourself?"
Lucy nodded her head. "Yeah, I can hardly walk on it and I'm hoping if you're available you could take a look at it?"
"Sure thing, Lucy. I've got to finish a few things but I'll be there within the next hour or so." Lucy smiled gratefully.
"Thank you Wendy."
"Of course!" She chirped smiling before disconnecting the call.
Leaning forward in her seat the blonde looked down at her feet, reaching for the zipper to her boot she tugged it down, removing it and tossing it off to the side. Moving to the next one she chewed her lip nervously, wincing as she removed the boot, dropping it to the floor she took an uneasy breath and peered down at her ankle, surprised and thankful to not see any discoloration. "I guess it's not broken?" She mumbled. "That's a relief." Shifting in her seat she glanced around deciding to bide her time waiting for the bluenette to arrive by working a little on her novel.
The sound of a knock pulled her out of her musings, startled momentarily before recalling that Wendy was supposed to be there. Stealing a glance at her clock she realized it was time for her to be arriving. She hesitated getting up, unwilling to be reprimanded by the small dragon slayer, she called out to her. "The door is open Wendy!"
She could hear the door as it opened and clicked with a close, the sound of soft footsteps as her guest walked through her apartment back to her room. Lucy greeted the sky dragon slayer with a smile. "Hello Wendy."
"Hey Lucy." The young girl greeted in return, stopping to stand beside her desk. "How are you?"
The celestial mage gave a quick shrug of her shoulder. "Surprisingly good considering Natsu obliterated everything once again."
Wendy giggled. "I was surprised to see him not beaten to a pulp so I assumed the job had gone well." Wendy kneeled in front of her and Lucy lifted her injured ankle towards her.
The blonde sighed woefully. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to kick the ever loving snot out of him, as much as I wanted to."
Wendy simply smiled as she began to press her fingers into Lucy's ankle, listening and glancing up at Lucy for any reaction. "Does it hurt when I press into it?" Shaking her head, the slayer continued her assessment, taking note of no sign of discoloration and only slight swelling.
Taking hold of the foot she flexed and extended it, the blonde whimpering in response to the movement. Sending a quick look up to her she noted her scrunched up face before returning to the foot, releasing it after another moment, standing from her positon.
"Well it looks like you've sprained your ankle, not severely, luckily." Lucy nodded. "It's probably a good idea to not walk on it too much, keep it elevated and ice it a little to help ease the swelling. If you need I can give you some pain medication?"
"No, I'm okay. It only hurts when I walk on it so I'll make sure to rest and keep my legged propped up." Wendy nodded.
"I'll be with Porlyusica working on somethings so if you do need it feel free to give me a call."
"I will, and thank you Wendy."
"Any time Lucy." Wendy gave the older girl a small wave. "I'll see you later." With that the sky dragon slayer left her apartment.
Letting out a soft sigh she glanced to her bathroom, desperate for a hot relaxing bath. Scooting to the edge of her seat she took hold of her desk, pushing herself onto her feet, making sure to lean heavily on the desk. She pressed her foot down, assessing which would be the best way for her to walk on it without putting too much weight onto it or injuring her foot further.
"Luce?" Her back stiffened upon hearing the familiar sound of the pink haired dragon slayer, struggling to suppress her frustration with him. "Luce are – what are you doing? I thought Wendy said you were supposed to be resting?"
Exhaling a calming breath the blonde spoke. "Yes, but there's nothing against me taking a bath." She shifted herself, taking a few steps, suppressing a wince.
"Do – you want some help?"
"I think you've helped enough don't you?" She turned her eyes to her partner, noticing him wince upon hearing her scathing tone.
Looking away from the slayer she continued her slow movements, wishing she hadn't seen his expression. He looked so much like a kicked puppy it had her almost regretting her words. Almost being the operative word. She had needed the money for rent and with its due date quickly approaching she didn't want to be forced on another job and now she wasn't even sure how she'd cover it with an injured ankle.
"Lucy I –"
"Natsu." She hissed, turning to her partner, clenching her jaw as his onyx eyes looked at her despondently. Grumbling under her breath she huffed in frustration. "Fine. Help me to the bathroom." Reaching out her arm she waved him over, leaning on him as he wrapped his arm around her waist, carefully guiding her to the bathroom. Leaning over the tub she turned on the faucet, setting it to her preferred temperature. Reaching for her stopper she plugged it in, glancing over her shoulder. "If you wouldn't mind, could you get my towels out?" She inquired, seeing him nod his head in reply the stellar mage continued setting up her bubble bath.
Once the tub was filled she closed her door, stripping off her clothing before carefully climbing into the tub, a low groan leaving her as she settled into the hot water, leaning against her tub momentarily before reaching for her loofa to begin cleaning herself, a soft knock sounded at the door. She spared a brief glance before continuing with washing herself, rinsing off a moment later. "Come in." She called, listening as the door opened and Natsu entered, placing her towels down before closing the door behind him.
"Luce, I really am sorry." He spoke hesitantly.
"You always are." Her eyes closed, shifting to lean back and relax, brows furrowing upon hearing a soft shuffle, before a warm hand gently nudged her shoulder. Eyes opening the blonde sat up, waiting for the pinkette to put his legs in the tub as he seated himself on the edge of her tub. Slightly startled as his arms wound themselves around her shoulders, pulling her into him. She let out an exasperated groan. "You're never going to let me be mad at you are you?"
He leaned over, giving her a small smile. "Not if I can help it."
"Whatever." She scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Could you get my back, please?" He laughed, releasing his hold on her.
"Sure thing Luce" She glanced over her shoulder, watching as he took her back scrubber, dipping it into the water before pouring her body wash on it. Turning away the blonde, smiled as he gently ran the scrubber along her back, noticing a lightly tanned arm enter her peripheral vision as he reached out for a cup to rinse her. Blinking as he poured water over her head.
Her cheeks warmed as he continued to wet her hair, placing the cup down beside him and grabbing her shampoo. Once he had thoroughly lathered her hair he began rising it, grasping her chin to lift her head as he poured more water. Her brown eyes watched him as he continued, slightly embarrassed when his eyes met hers, giving her a gentle smile he tenderly stroked her cheek with his thumb.
Once finished with her hair he released his hold on her and set the cup down back where it had originally been. Lucy sat staring at the soapy water disappointment edging its way in. "Thanks Natsu." She murmured.
"I'll go ahead and head out so you can get dressed." Lucy nodded, waiting for the slayer to leave her bathroom before burying her face in her hands and berating herself internally.
"Get a grip Lucy." She chastised softly as she took hold of her stopper and pulled it. Taking hold of the edges of the tub she gingerly eased herself into a standing position, grabbing her hair towel first, vigorously drying her hair before wrapping it as she usually did followed by drying her body off and wrapping the towel around herself.
Stepping out of the tub the stellar mage glanced around the bathroom, suppressing the urge to groan in frustration as she had forgotten to bring her clothing into the bathroom before getting in the tub. Pulling the door open she slowly stumbled her way to her bedroom, grumbling under her breath as she pulled open her dresser drawer and pulling out her undergarments. Pulling those on, she then shuffled over to her closet, wincing upon stepping wrong, the sting of pain shooting up her leg.
"Luce, you alright?"
"I'm fine, Natsu." She grounded out, struggling to breathe through the pain. Clearing her head she opened the door and pulled out her outfit for the day, dressing as carefully as she could manage.
"What are you doing getting dressed?" Taking in his perplexed expression the blonde rolled her eyes as she adjusted her skirt.
"Obviously I'm going to head to the guild." He frowned in response. "I still need to –"She cut herself off unsure if she wanted to make him feel worse than he already was.
"Can't you just take a day to rest?" Lucy opened her mouth to argue with him. "I promise to take you to the guild to help you find a job."
She pursed her lips in thought, contemplating his offer before nodding her head in concession, receiving a grin in return. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes she smiled, waving him over and he assisted her to her little loveseat, the duo sitting together for several moments in silence.
"Hey Luce?" She hummed softly, shifting in her seat to look at him, noting the apprehensive expression covering his features, the hesitancy in his dark eyes as they looked at her. "I like you."
The celestial mage searched his face, uncomprehending of the situation before her. Feeling her heart stutter, uncertain if it would be alright to interpret his words as those she had longed to pass his lips. She wanted to ask for clarification in their meaning, afraid of mistaking this for a confession. "I like you too Natsu." She whispered, smiling tenderly at him, jolting in surprise as he moved himself beside her, taking her hand in his, and entwining their fingers.
"I mean I love you Luce." Lucy could feel the heat rush to her cheeks as her heart raced, hopeful this was reality, that this moment wasn't just another dream. "When your ankle gets better I'll make sure we take one of those boring jobs that you like."
Lucy let out a light laugh. "It doesn't have to be too boring." She assured. "As long as you can promise we'll be able to get the entire reward."
"I will." He grinned widely. "It'll be just us so there's nothing for you to worry about." He assured the blonde.
Her brows furrowed briefly before turning to him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as the realization that the slayer is aware of just how destructive he can be. "Are you telling me you know just how much damage you cause when you argue with Gray?"
The fire dragon slayer chuckled, giving a nod of his head. "Yea, I know. Of course Gramps complains about it all the time too but I generally have a good idea."
"If you know then why do you let Gray rile you up so much?" She asked baffled by the pink haired young man next her and receiving a shrug in reply. "Natsu you –"
"Can I kiss you?" The stellar mage stiffened at his sudden question, feeling her face burn in embarrassment.
"Natsu I –"She looked away from him however giving him a nod of her head.
His hand gently took her chin in his grasp, turning her back to him as he leaned close, pressing his lips to hers. Their first kiss was tender, chaste, and filled with an overwhelming sense of nervousness. When he kissed her again the slow and sensual movement of his lips against hers let her know how he truly felt for her. He paused, a hairsbreadth away from claiming her lips once more, his eyes looking into her chocolate colored orbs. "Tell me you love me." Lucy laughed, quietly.
"Of course I do, you dummy." She pecked his lips. "More than anything, I love you Natsu." She whispered softly. His face split into a grin before he claimed her lips a final time.
"How's your ankle?" Lifting her leg she looked over her ankle.
"Not bad." She took in the increase in swelling due to its recent usage. "Though I should probably put some ice on it." She mumbled out, moving to slide off the couch.
"I'll get it." She watched as he quickly rose from his seat and made his way to her kitchen.
"Wouldn't the ice just melt the moment he touched it?" Lucy wondered as she placed a pillow on her coffee table, lifting her leg to place it gently a top it, muffling the whimper that begged to escape her lips upon feeling a sting of pain. The celestial spirit mage heard his laughter as he emerged from the kitchen with a baggie of ice.
"I can control my fire Luce." He said, carefully placing the bag of ice on her ankle and she giggled.
"Thanks Natsu." He smiled and took his seat next to her, taking her hand in his.
"How did you manage to hurt yourself anyways?" The blonde shrugged her shoulders.
"It's one of the many mysteries that occur when we're on a job."
"You mean like when you lose at least seventy-five percent of your outfit?" He teased and she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, like that." She sighed, repositioning herself to get more comfortable. "I'm just grateful I didn't on that job. I likely would have frozen to death."
Natsu laughed. "I'd never let that happen but just in case, I'll be there to keep you warm if it ever does." He grinned at her and she turned away, flushing.
"Promise?" He chuckled wrapping his arms around her.
"Of course!" Lucy snuggled into her partner's hold, feeling herself finally start to relax. "We should get you to bed." Lucy lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug.
"I'm too comfy to get up." She pouted.
"Come on, Wendy said you needed lots of rest." Lucy sighed heavily.
"If I must." Natsu laughed, standing up he lifted her into his arms, carrying her to her room, glancing at her attire.
"Pajamas first, then bed." He set her down on her bed. "Is it okay if I get you a set?"
"I – No, I'll get them." Wrapping his arm around her he helped her to her dresser, waiting as she pulled out her clothes before relenting his hold, turning away to give her the privacy she needed. "I'm dressed." She informed him after several moments.
The pinkette smiled at her before guiding her back the bed, helping her onto the bed. Grabbing one of her pillows he waited for her to get situated before placing the pillow near her ankle for her to rest it on. "Be right back." Quickly heading out to the living room he picked up the bag of ice that had fallen to the floor, frowning at the melted ice.
Dumping the contents into her sink he grabbed a handful of ice, refilling it. Walking back to her room he smiled at his sleeping partner. He carefully placed the bag on her ankle, glancing up at the blonde to make sure he hadn't hurt her. Lifting her comforter he placed it over her, turning off the light before climbing into bed next to the celestial mage.
Sliding underneath the covers he knew she'd probably try to shove him out of bed later, complaining he was causing her to burn up but he wrapped his arms around her anyways, holding her close. Closing his eyes, he felt his lips lift as she snuggled closer to him. Pressing a kiss to her head. "Good night Luce. He breathed, tightening his hold on her.
-x-
When her ankle had finally gotten better Natsu had practically dragged her to the guild, eager for them to go on a job together. Before she could properly look at the board to decide which would be best he had found a job for them and had them signed up before a protest could leave her. A heavy sigh left the blonde as she sat with her friends and fellow guild mates, drinking her strawberry smoothie, trying to not think about how much of a headache having the slayer as a boyfriend might become.
She had found her way over to Levy to continue their seemingly never ending conversation regarding her book before the blonde confessed that Natsu had asked her out a week ago and they were officially a couple. Levy had been overjoyed for her and though she wanted to continue her talk with the solid script mage she found her conversation interrupted with an impatient dragon slayer, ready for them to leave. Giving Levy a quick farewell she allowed herself to be dragged out of the guild by her energetic boyfriend.