.
.
I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
-Imagine Dragons, "Demons"
(:)(A)(:)
Drabble Babble
Chapter #3: The Beast Inside
(:)(A)(:)
With her, he is greedy.
This is not a new development, but it is one that has recently escalated beyond his control. He wants her all to himself. When her attention strays from him he feels jealousy curl in his chest and the burning urge to do something ridiculous just so he can have her eyes all to himself. He wants to be the one she seeks out, wants to be the one she confides in. He wants to be the only one to hold her, to touch her. He wants her in every way possible.
The dragon in him – the beast in him – demands that he steal her away and hoard her to himself, because she is a treasure. There are diamonds in her eyes that reflect like stars and gold in her hair when it's touched by the sunlight, but it is more than that. She is the moon in his night sky, and as long as he has her then he has enough light to see by. When she is gone, when she isn't by his side, he feels like he is fumbling in the dark.
He wants her with an intensity that frightens him. It is not enough to just be her friend anymore. The beast beneath his breast howls and clamors, it demands that he entangle their souls so tightly that she can never hope to escape. He wants to possess her every thought, make her feel lost without his touch. He wants to have every little thing that is Lucy Heartfilia until he is the burning sun in her sky and she cannot live without him.
And it's wrong.
He knows this. Feels it in his heart even as the beast beneath roars and claws at his rib cage. She is not his – she is not anyone's – and she never will be. Lucy belongs to Lucy. She is her own woman, her own person, and no one will ever take that away from her. Not any of her future boyfriends, not the husband she is bound to eventually choose, not even him.
He can't let her find out. He's terrified that if he slips and she sees the beast pacing behind his sharpened gaze she will never be able to trust him again. He doesn't even know if she should. Right now, as jealous heat boils under his flesh because she is talking (flirting the beast snarls) with the blue eyed bookstore clerk, he thinks that she should be terrified of him. He turns away, forcing himself to look elsewhere before the sight of another man smiling down at her drives him insane. He can't help how he feels, but he can choose how he acts. Acting like a possessive asshole is not an option, not with Lucy. She means too much, is too important.
He feels the lightest of touches on his forearm and withholds a shudder. Lucy is looking up at him, her brow drawn in concern. "Are you alright?"
He can't answer her question, not without lying, so he takes her hand in his and holds it firmly. Her touch calms the beast, makes him purr in satisfaction. It curls around his heart and whispers in his ear, 'If you don't let go then she can't leave.' Natsu gives her the same bright grin he's been hiding behind for months now. "Let's go, I'm starving! You were taking forever!"
She looks at him, and for a moment he's afraid that she can see right through him. Then she nods, a small smile mirroring his own. "Yeah, ok." She gives his hand a gentle squeeze, but doesn't let it go. It is such a simple thing, something he shouldn't let effect him, but it ignites the tiniest spark of hope all the if she could need him as much as he needs her then maybe the beast would calm and the howling would stop.
Maybe then he'd be convinced that she wouldn't end up leaving him like everyone else.
AN: Inspired by a prompt I received on tumblr from margaret-longbottom who requested a piece based off of the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons.