Lucy was sure something was wrong. Here Natsu was, making an absolute mess in her new (expensive) living room, and she wasn't yelling at him to leave. Natsu sat cross legged at the foot of her couch eating – no devouring a bowl of pork ramen and letting nearly every inch of it miss his mouth and stain the carpet. Yet, she simply stayed quiet, nearly unbothered. If anything, she was savoring each moment because she knew all too well what it felt like when he wasn't there. He could chew up all her furniture if he wanted and she'd still probably allow that. Probably.
Lucy giggled as Natsu continued to slurp his ramen, spilling almost as much as he was able to fit in his mouth. Natsu looked up at her and flashed his wide, toothy grin before proceeding to stare back down into his seemingly never ending bowl of ramen.
"Y'want sum Luce?" Natsu muffled as he chewed on a slice of pork.
Normally Lucy would turn him down and let him enjoy his meal all himself; she knew just how possessive he was of his food. Yet, she was so caught up in this moment, so wrapped in this feeling of admiration and love that before she could stop herself, she said "sure".
She wasn't sure when she had come to care so strongly for Natsu. It could've easily been the first day he brought her to Fairy Tail. But watching him sitting on her floor after a year of him being gone, she knew she loved him.
Still watching Natsu, she walked over and sat next to him on the carpet.
Move closer Lucy. He's finally back. Lucy's thoughts were running a mile a minute, all screaming at how excited she was to have him back in her life. Her heart and mind were aligned on one mission and that was to finally tell Natsu how much she cared about him.
As Lucy got comfortable in her spot, Natsu shifted closer so that their arms brushed against each other.
"Open wide!", Natsu guided his chopsticks towards the girl's open mouth. Once the noodles hit her mouth, Lucy instantly began to blow outwards.
"This-is-still-hot!" Lucy fanned her mouth in a desperate effort to cool the boiling ramen.
Natsu nearly doubled over laughing. "Sorry Lucy! I couldn't really tell it was that hot!"
Lucy finally managed to swallow and looked at Natsu with tears in her eyes.
"Woo. Wow. Very hot. You could've warned me! How cruel." Lucy mocked a pouty face.
"Here, let me blow it for you", Natsu said as he readied another heaping serving onto his chopsticks.
Natsu leaned forward as he gently blew on the steaming noodles. She felt his breath against her face and knew she was beet-red at this point. She'll blame it on the steam for now.
Lucy leaned forward to meet him where he held the noodles, and opened her mouth wide.
"Ahh", she said as cutely as possible. Really Lucy? "Ahh?" Everything about the way she was behaving was so unlike her. But if this was how she got closer to Natsu then she was ready to say "Ahh" as loud as possible.
As she felt the ramen enter her mouth, she slowly opened her eyes to see Natsu staring intently at her. Their faces were still just a breath apart.
"Better?", Natsu said with his voice barely just above a whisper.
Lucy drank this image in. She felt her heart accelerate and every muscle in her body tighten.
"Oh yea-uh YEP THANKS IT'S A LOT BETTER", Lucy said as she yanked herself backwards away from the boy who was suddenly so alluring.
She viciously chewed the remaining noodles in her mouth and looked everywhere but in Natsu's direction. Lucy sat completely straight which should have indicated how nervous she was; she almost always sat like a gargoyle.
"Haha! You really are the biggest weirdo I know Luce. Oh wait, you've got some broth on your cheek", Natsu said as he licked his thumb and raised his hand to wipe it off.
Isweartothehighestwizardsaintspleasedontgetclos- Lucy's thought process was interrupted when she felt his warm thumb gently slide across her cheek to remove the leftover food.
His thumb continued absently stroking her cheek even though Lucy was almost sure the broth was gone by now.
He's practically setting the mood for you right now Lucy. If you want something to happen between the both of you, it's time to do it now.
As if in slow motion, Lucy brought her hand to gently hold the hand that was caressing her face. She has almost zero to no experience with making a move, so she figured she would just do what felt right. This is Natsu, she thought to herself, I always feel right when he's around.
Natsu's eyes showed a slight impression of confusion, but he stayed perfectly still. Still holding his hand, she brought it to her lips where she planted a soft kiss.
A HAND KISS LUCY? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BACK OUT OF THIS LUCY? HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?
The second her lips pulled away, she immediately felt her face flame and drew her eyes away from his direction.
Well, if I'm on a sinking ship, might as well drown quickly, Lucy thought to herself. Apart from all of her fears of losing Natsu suddenly surfacing and screaming at her to abort mission, she had resolved to tell him exactly how she felt right in this moment.
"Natsu…Having you gone for a year…was really hard for me. And I know that it was something you felt that you had to do and I'm totally not attacking you for doing something you felt was right for your needs or anything like that I'm just-", Lucy was cut off when she felt Natsu gently grip her hand a little tighter and shift slightly to set the remaining bowl of noodles down.
"Right, breathing is important…sorry. What I'm trying to say is that, I missed you. A lot. And it's normal to miss a friend when they're gone but- this felt worse. And I couldn't understand why not having barge into my house everyday ate away at me until today. It took watching you eat ramen and make a mess in my living room to know that, there's no one I'd rather be in this moment with. And that I care about you…as more than a friend. I know that this is weird and we're partners and there's nothing I would do to jeopardize our friendship but…I had to say it. I know that you don't feel the same way and that is honestly so okay. I just hope that we can still keep things the same".
Maybe it was having that slight nudge of reassurance from Natsu or finally having aired out her feelings, but Lucy finally felt her breathing slow down and her head clear. She hadn't been making eye contact with Natsu the whole time, but she figured she'd have to see his facial expression eventually.
She glanced upwards and looked at Natsu. And for what seemed like the 4985234th time, she couldn't tell what his facial expression meant. There have been more than a few times since they've known each other that Lucy has had a difficult time telling what he was thinking. She wished that this wasn't one of those times.
Lucy studied his face and saw that he was neither embarrassed, nor revolted. His eyes were intently looking at Lucy, moving from her eyes to her lips, then looking at how her blonde hair framed her face.
This is lasting forever. Why is it so silent? Why is he just looking at me? Should I say something else?
From what Lucy studied in romance magazines and novels, there was almost always an immediate, sometimes drastic, reaction to a declaration of love. Either the person would say they're not interested and walk away, or they would pull them close into a kiss to satiate their hunger for touch. There haven't been many books that have someone just staring for several pages.
Finally swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat, Lucy took a deep breath before she said something.
"Natsu…I-"
"Me too", Natsu interjected before Lucy could finish her sentence.
"What?", Lucy stared incredulously at the boy who still managed to keep an unreadable facial expression.
"Well, me too. Like everything you said. I mean, I always thought it was kind of obvious that I think you're special. Who else would I share my ramen with Luce? Do you know me? Even Happy and I get into some fights over that stuff".
Natsu pauses as if remembering a darker time. He continued.
"I don't think I ever thought of it as something to say out loud cause it felt so normal. But when I think about how I care about my friends and how I care about you, it's pretty different".
Natsu moved their hands so that they interlaced their fingers. Lucy swore she felt her soul leave her body but she tried not to break the mood with her hysterics.
"You know I'm not great with words…and you're so good at them…I guess I never said anything because I didn't want you to laugh at me", Natsu said quietly as he stared at their interlaced fingers.
Lucy was pretty sure she was one step away from reaching the gates of heaven. Natsu said that she was good at using her words, but right now she was sure that she had lost all ability to speak.
"Lucy…can I show you…how I feel?", Natu said, his voice barely above a whisper at this point.
Lucy felt her heart pause briefly before continuing to beat furiously against her chest. She was going to die; she was sure of it.
Lucy nodded.
Natsu moved his gaze to her lips as he shifted closer and said, "Okay".