Hello my little floofers(That's what i'm gonna call you guys now tehehe)! It's me again! This chapter took me ALL DAY to write. Literally though, after writing this chapter, I'm really excited to write this story. Just a little side note, this takes place before the Tenrou arc when Lucy's father is still alive. (Spoilers? tehehehe~) ALSO CREDIT IS DUE WHERE CREDIT IS DUE! My friend Lizz helped me SO much with this chapter and it's TEN TIMES better than without her opinion so THANKS BUNCHES to her! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review and tell me what you think! I would love to hear your guy's opinions, especially now that we have 14 followers! WOAH, THAT'S INSANE, and only after ONE CHAPTER! Also, new name for the story, Warmth! Well, i've rambled long enough, so enjoy!~
Lucy relaxed into Natsu's covers. They smelled welcoming, like the sweet smell of scorched wood in the middle of a dying campfire. She sighed, debating if she wanted to leave the warmth of the bed. She was about to get up when someone softly nudged her shoulder. She turned her head and was met by kind eyes and a gentle smile.
"Hey, Luce, breakfast is ready." Natsu coaxed gently. Lucy grumbled and sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"I'll be there in a moment." She yawned, stretching her arms upwards. Natsu's face was brushed with a slight pink. He quickly whipped around and started walking back toward the kitchen, "U-uh, yeah…" he mumbled, hoping that Lucy wouldn't notice how flustered he was.
Lucy swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up, popping her back as she shuffled to the bathroom. Her hand rested on the handle but Happy's voice stopped her before she opened the door.
"Nashuuu," He questioned, "you never make breakfast, why're you makin' it today? Do you even know how to make eggs?" Natsu shushed him before continuing to focus on the pan. Happy silently pouted and sat on the old counter top and watched his companion focus on the task in front of him.
Lucy closed the door to the bathroom and leaned against the wall. Was Natsu making breakfast just for her sake? No, there's no way that he would do that. Lucy exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. Natsu was nice but he wouldn't make breakfast just for her. He was probably just really hungry, after all, he ate ten truck loads of food each day. Lucy turned on the faucet and splashed warm water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the small, battered mirror in front of her. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in all directions, there were bags under her eyes, showing off all the reading she did last night. Her clothes were crooked, her shirt falling off her shoulder, and her pajama pants half way rolled up on one leg. She quickly fixed her appearance, doing everything she could to look presentable for Natsu. She looked in the mirror one last time, wishing she had her concealer with her to hide the bags under her eyes, and then turned the door handle and forced her legs to walk towards the kitchen. As soon as she left the bathroom the smell of burnt eggs filled her nose. She coughed and walked towards the kitchen where Natsu was panicking over the stove top.
"Natsu, what are you doing?!" She yelled over Happy's high pitched screaming.
"Making eggs?" He said, not sure what to do.
"Here, let me have it!" She nudged him out of the way and took the smoking pan outside. She dumped the eggs, or what was left of the eggs, behind a bush and went back into the smoke filled house. She walked over to Natsu, set down the burnt pan, and turned to face him.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU COULD'VE BURNED DOWN THE PLACE BY DOING THAT! IF YOU COULDN'T MAKE BREAKFAST THEN WHY'D YOU EVEN TRY IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" She yelled, a vein popped out on her forehead.
Natsu shrank down, "S-sorry," He squeaked, "I just wanted to do something nice…"
Lucy paused and studied his face. Was Natsu, blushing?
"H-hey, it's fine, I just didn't want anyone to get hurt." She said carefully, "Let's open up some windows to air out the place."
Natsu nodded before proceeding with Lucy's orders.
Lucy turned around and walked to the closest window and turned the handle to open it. Lucy was relieved that Natsu hadn't hurt himself. She didn't know what she'd do if he did. She looked over to him and noticed he was hanging his head and shuffling his feet as he walked around the small kitchen. She sighed and called him over.
"H-hey Natsu," She started, "I c-could teach you ya know…" She looked at the ground, keeping her gaze on the floor a blush blooming across her face.
Natsu blinked at her before a gentle grin spread across his face.
"I'd like that a lot."
Lucy nodded, keeping her eyes down, too embarrassed to look up at him. She walked over to the stove top and grabbed a new pan from the cabinet to her right. She then walked over to the fridge and grabbed three eggs and some butter. She walked back over to the stove before taking a deep breath.
"You want to learn how to make a sunny side up egg right?" She inquired, trying to busy herself as an excuse to not look at him.
He mumbled in agreement, making Lucy jump slightly at how close he was to her. She mentally slapped herself before grabbing a bowl from the cabinet to her left.
"First, you'll want to warm your pan and grease it with butter so nothing sticks to it." She taught as she turned the knob on the stove to medium heat. Natsu watched intently from Lucy's left. After about a minute, Lucy put a small slice of butter into the pan and moved it around. Once it was melted and and started to bubble, she started to crack an egg into the bowl.
"Make sure to always crack your egg in a bowl before you put it into the pan, otherwise you might get some egg shell in there." She said knowledgeably. Natsu nodded eagerly, soaking up the information like a sponge. Lucy tried not to focus on the fact that Natsu was still extremely close and tried not to shiver every time his breath tickled her neck.
"T-then you carefully pour the egg into the pan." She shuddered as another breath hit her neck, causing her hand to tighten around the bowl.
"Then you leave it in the pan until the yolk sets." She said, watching small bits of melted butter jump off the pan.
"What does that mean exactly..? When the yolk sets?" He asked, moving so he could see the pan better.
"Uh, i-it means that it won't move around, so it'll s-stay in place."
"Oh."
Lucy shifted her stance slightly to the right, trying to give herself some room, but Natsu leaned in more, leaving less space than there was before. She made a small squeak, her hand brushing against his leg by accident. She immediately pulled her hand to her chest, hoping he didn't think her hand was wandering into that spot. Her face heated up, turning a crimson red.
"Oi, Lucy, is the egg done now?" He asked, snapping Lucy out of her panik. She looked at the pan, careful to avoid his gaze. Wait, was he trying to catch her eye?
"Oh, y-yeah." She agreed, reaching for the spatula, keeping her gaze slightly to the right. As she was about to grab it, Natsu's hand came out of nowhere and met her's so his hand was resting on top. Lucy jumped, looked at the ground, and pulled her hand away, frantically trying to avoid awkwardness. Failing, Lucy leaned into Natsu, not realising that he was still at her left. She let out a small whimper, desperate to get this over with and leave.
"S-sorry." She whispered before reaching for the spatula quickly, so Natsu didn't have time to reach for it as well.
"T-then you t-take the spatula a-and use it to take t-the egg up off t-the p-pan and onto a plate." Her voice was uneven along with her hand as she lifted the egg off the pan and onto a waiting plate. As she was about to put the spatula down, Natsu's hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. She gasped from the sudden gesture and held her breath. Natsu's eyes were dark and stern, obvious that he had something to say.
"I don't like it when you don't look at me," He spoke firmly, " so just, relax."
Lucy stood there, forced to look at his eyes, but not wanting to look away either. They were the same as always, but they held a confidence to them that she had never seen before.
"O-okay…" She gasped, trying to calm her heart rate, fully aware that Natsu's other arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him.
They sat there for a moment before Natsu let go of her, suddenly realising how close they had just been. He turned around and looked around the room uncomfortably. Lucy sat there and watched him in shock. What had just happened?
"I-I think I should leave…" She paused, "I'll see y-you later…"
Natsu nodded, not moving from his position. Lucy turned off the stove and headed towards the door. She was about to open the door when Natsu spoke up.
"H-hey, I'm sorry, for making you uncomfortable, I mean..." He paused, "You're my best friend, I don't want you to feel like you have to act different around me."
Lucy turned her head to look at him. He was still facing the wall, too embarrassed to look directly at her. A small, sad smile found it's way onto Lucy's face.
"It's okay Natsu."
Lucy opened the door and slammed it shut. She bolted down Natsu's pathway, desperately trying to get away from the house so he wouldn't see her in such a mess. She felt a hot tear run down her face as she slowed back down to walking.
"Why am I crying?" She said, more tears falling down her face.
Lucy sat there, silently letting her face be stained with salty tears.
'I knew it would sting, but why does it sting this much?' She thought as she continued on her way home. She was stupid to think that they could ever be more than friends. After all, he only thought of her as her best friend, but then why did he do what he did? Why was he so close to her, why did he play with her heart like he did? Lucy wiped her eyes as she finally arrived in front of her apartment. She walked through the front door of the building and walked up the stairs to her home. She unlocked and opened the door, fresh tear stains on her face. She froze dead in her tracks when a familiar voice filled her ears.
"Not too bad of a place you have here Lucy."
'Dad?'
Ehehehe, cliff hangers are SO great, aren't they? Next chapter will be out hopefully before next weekend!
~Lanybug135