LATE NIGHT CONFESSIONS

Lucy couldn't remember when it all started, when things just became different and she suddenly noticed the small things. She was in no way a stupid girl, and though she didn't quite think of herself as neither naive or dense, she was questioning herself as it was. It had just been in his nature, something she didn't ask about but accepted nonetheless. In his own way he was always gentle and careful with her. His intensity had never scared her, nor had his passion.

Now everything felt different. She wished she could go back to live in oblivion, but she couldn't remember when it all had started. If she only could remember what made her notice how tenderly he touched her, how he always managed to set her skin on fire, things would be a lot easier. Of course, then she might never get to know the reasons to all the pleasant feelings as well. The fire that crawled over her skin was nothing painful or scary, it was in fact comforting.

There was no rapid heartbeat, nothing numbing her thoughts, no irrelevant embarrassment. All of those common signs that she had felt a number of times before, were not in place. Instead she was always angered by his stupidity, terrified when he was hurt, and always - at least almost always - comfortable when he was around.

She mostly felt the same about a lot of her friends though.

The difference between that rose haired idiot and the others, was that he could always make her smile, always make her feel better, and get away with almost anything.

Lucy was in no way a stupid girl. It scared her, realizing all of this, but she also knew that it didn't need to be all that scary. He wasn't that stupid, even she could spot the differences. Perhaps none other had as good a bed as she, and maybe he liked her place better than the others simply because she had food. He was rather dense, as well as impulsive. He always did stupid things, and both she and Erza was more often than not getting caught up in his mess, too.

That was just the big picture though. When she started to notice the small things, she noticed that he wouldn't touch Erza the way he would touch her. It wasn't that he thought of her as weak or ugly, it was only a slight difference in their relationship.

A shiver suddenly ran down Lucy's spine and she turned around. She found the source of her troubled thoughts climbing through her window. The chill from outside settled in her bones. It was first when he stood in front of her that all blood rushed to her head. He had seen her naked a handful of times (not only her), and they'd slept in the same bed more times than she cared to admit; however once she had started to think about him in that certain manner, it was hard to stop.

It was silly to be embarrassed about something that happened such a long time ago, but time was irrelevant on such delicate matters. What made the case so much worse, was that she hadn't despised it as much as she had enjoyed it, and she had no idea what he had thought of it, at all.

'Oi, what's up with you, Luce?' He was crouching in front of her, his brows knitted and eyes worried. 'Are you getting sick?'

Lucy shook her head and swallowed. That gentle touch on her forehead, the worry written on his face; all the same actions and emotions that any of their good friends would get. It was the slight panic hiding in his eyes that made her skin crawl, the touch so gentle she hardly felt it, silently begging her not to be seriously ill.

'I-I'm fine,' Lucy said, smiling reassuringly.

She wasn't sure when she had started noticing, but she guessed it to be around the Grand Magical Games - somewhere before and after they both realized that death was never far away. It was laughable, Lucy thought. She who should know better than anyone what death can touch, she had still thought of Natsu as invincible. She had actually believed he could cheat death somehow.

When she looked into his worried face now, she could see how tired he was. The battle was long over, but they were still trapped inside the memory of it. The terror was still sitting in their bones. Natus' eyes lowered suddenly. 'Are you still having nightmares, Luce?'

She could never imagine him asking anyone else that sort of question. The anger mixed with his worry also made her think that a lot had changed since she first met him. She couldn't be sure any longer if he was mad at himself for not being strong enough, or just angry at the world in general.

'They aren't too bad,' Lucy said softly. 'I know you have them, too, you know. Sometimes you can't fall asleep afterwards, right? You don't leave the bed, but you don't sleep either.' He didn't respond to that. 'They won't go away for a long time, Natsu. You just have to make sure they don't get the better of you.'

He was silent for a long time, looking down at their linked hands. She didn't know when she had taken them, but she didn't pull away. He rarely showed it in the Guild, probably not wanting to worry anyone, but he seemed to lose it when he was alone with either her or Happy. He would always get this lost look in his eyes, as if he were somewhere far away.

'You cry in your sleep.'

Lucy stared at him, not sure how to reply. She had woken by her own cries sometimes, though usually it was whenever she were alone. That Natsu had witnessed something like that, made her feel guilty. As if she knew it would hurt him.

'You call out to me, reach for me and stop in mid air. Whenever I talk to you it is as if you don't hear me; you just keep sobbing.' His voice was thick, only a whisper. His grip on her hands was tightning. 'Whatever I do, you won't wake up.'

This was becoming a habit of theirs. Their late nights confessions. Usually it would end with all of them crying - Happy a sobbing mess, Lucy a wreck and Natsu hugging them both while looking lost. They would always fall asleep like that, huddled up together.

'That's a dream, Natsu,' Lucy told him softly. 'Whenever I have a nightmare you wake me up, you always do. And I always wake you up. It's okay.'

'No,' he croaked out.

'Yes.' She tried to smile reassuringly to him. 'We will fall asleep together and we will wake up together, we always do. If you have a nightmare, I will wake you. If I have a nightmare, you'll wake me. We'll get through this together.'

His eyes was getting lost again, and without further ado, she moved him over to the bed. It was always unpleasant when he got like that, so quiet and careful. It was the opposite of the Natsu she had come to know and love; it scared her to see him like that.

They huddled under the blanket together, cuddling and nuzzling into each other. That was just another thing that had happened, that had just seemed natural to them. His arms sneaked around her and comforted her. She felt safe. Hugging him back she hoped she could make him feel more at ease, too.

'I love you, Luce.'

'I love you too, Natsu.'

The arms around her and the solid chest under her cheek made all her thoughts go away. It gave her the illusion that nothing could touch her. That as long as they were touching each other - as long as this fire crawling over her skin remained - death was a mere illusion.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

A/N: This has been laying around forever and I figured that I might as well just see what you guys think. Personally I am very conflicted about this, because I generally liked this idea, but I'm not too sure about the way it turned out... And the 'I love you's was a bit cheesy, at least in my opinion.

Anyway, if you feel like helping me out and pointing me in a direction, feel free to do so! I appreciate any help you might offer, and all comments/reviews. Thank you for reading! And sorry for any typos or (grammar)mistakes in general.