Bad Habit
"Hey everyone, I found a very interesting job" Erza announced, coming to the table where Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Charle and Happy were sitting. "I think it's perfect for our team!"
"Wow, the money is pretty good" Gray said as he looked at the flyer the red head brought "It's a nice share for everyone"
"So, if everyone agrees, I can tell Mira we'll be taking it…" she looked around for their approval. "Where's Lucy?"
"I don't know, she was here just a moment ago" Natsu said, looking around as well.
"If you're looking for Lucy, she's outside" Mira informed, coming to get their empty plates.
"Oh, I'll go ask her then" the armored mage informed, making her way out of the guild. Natsu got up and followed her. Something was intriguing him.
"Hey, Lucy, I… Oh!" Erza stopped suddenly, and Natsu saw why when he caught up with her. Lucy was just outside the guild hall, leaning against the wall with a lit cigarette on her right hand.
"What is it, Erza?" she asked, turning to them.
"You're smoking" she pointed out, still surprised.
"Yeah, so?" Lucy looked at the cigarette and back to her, confused by her reaction.
"Since when do you smoke?" asked Gray, who had followed them too for some reason.
"I don't know… I started a couple months ago I guess" she shrugged. They knew that meant she started during their year apart.
"Well, you shouldn't smoke" Erza informed, finally recovering from the shock. "It's really bad for your health"
"Yeah, I'm well aware" she chuckled, as if she wasn't really worried about that.
"So that's why you've been smelling weird" Natsu observed. He noticed it when he met her at Crocus, but assumed it was something in town or in her job rubbing on her. After they left, she went back to her normal scent, but a couple of weeks after Alvarez war was finished, this weird smell came creeping back around her.
"Stop talking about my smell" she protested, blushing, and took a long draft of her cigarette. He watched her muscles relaxing as smoke came out of her mouth.
"Lucy, we have a very young, very easily impressionable member on our team" the red head insisted, crossing her arms.
"What? Are you kidding me?" the blonde replied in disbelief. "She sees people smoking and drinking at the guild everyday!"
"Well, yes, but she looks up to you, as well as everyone in our team" the other argued.
"Fine, I won't smoke in front of Wendy" Lucy rolled her eyes.
"I'd rather you'd stop smoking all together"
"Gray smokes, I don't see you nagging him about it!" she pointed at the ice mage.
"Gray stopped smoking years ago!" she turned to the dark haired man with a terrifying face. "Isn't that right, Gray?"
"Y-Yes" he nodded, begging with his eyes for Lucy not to tell on him. "You'll feel a lot better if you stop too, Lucy"
"Geez… Fine" she agreed, taking a last pull of the cigarette and putting it out on the wall behind her. "All gone, Erza. What did you want to tell me?"
"Give me your other cigarettes" she demanded, stretching her hand. She groaned, annoyed, picked a pink cigarette case out of her bag, and put the remaining cigarettes on her friend's hand. "Ohhh, that is pretty adorable!"
"Yeah, I thought you would like it" the blonde said, showing her the cigarette case. It had pictures of strawberry cakes all over it.
"Too bad you used it for such a bad purpose" she sighed, throwing the cigarettes on the trash can nearby. "This is for your own good"
"I know" she whispered, putting the cigarette case back in her bag.
"So, what I wanted was to show you this job…"
Natsu watched the interaction in silence. He was relieved Erza convinced Lucy to stop. He really didn't like that smell on her, it messed with her scent. It was much stronger and bothered him a million times more than any perfume or shampoo she might wear. He only hoped it didn't take too long to wear it off her.
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"Hey, Luce, guess what Happy and I found!" Natsu yelled, opening her window. As soon as he steped inside the house, he frowned. Her apartment smelled different.
"Well, I guess it wasn't the way to the door!" she replied from her desk, and he saw the reason for the strong smell. A lit cigarette in her left hand.
"We found a new game!" the blue exceed announced, showing her a box with a board game.
"Uhhh, let me see!" she asked excitedly, putting out the cigarette on an ashtray. Natsu noticed the ashtray was full, which meant she must had been smoking for quite some time.
"The man at the store said it's brand new, and selling a lot!" Happy informed as she took the box in her hands.
"Wow, can't wait to kick your butt playing this!" she grinned. Board games were one of the few things she was a lot better at than Natsu. "Do you wanna open and play right now? Natsu?"
"You… You're smoking again" he said, all the excitement gone from his face. "You told Erza you would stop"
"Oh, yeah, do not tell her" she laughed, taking the box to the table "Can you believe how bothered she was about it?"
"Hm… Yeah, actually" he groaned, and she turned to him, surprised. "She said it's really bad for your health"
"Wise words from a guy who eats every strange magic he can find" she rolled her eyes. "I don't see anyone lecturing Cana for ruining her liver!"
"Well, it's not really feminine" he tried to argue.
"Huh?" she just raised her hands and grimaced to the weird arguments he was raising. As if any girl from Fairy Tail were the text book definition of feminine.
"Okay, fine, it's your smell, it's interfering with your scent!" he revealed, crossing his arms. "I don't like the cigarette smell!"
"Then stop smelling me!" she asked, annoyed.
"I can't help it, I smell everything because I'm a dragon slayer!" he explained, irritated. She should know these things by now.
"Okay, fine, I'll shower" the blonde determined, grabbing a towel and making her way to the bathroom.
"Does it really bother you that much?" asked Happy once they heard the water running.
"Yes, it's horrible" Natsu answered, taking her ashtray and throwing away the remains of her cigarettes.
"Macao and Wakaba smoke all the time, I've never seen you get so annoyed by it" the exceed considered.
"It's different… When we're at the guild, there's all kinds of different smells…" he said, avoiding his partner's gaze so he wouldn't caught up on his lie. The cigarette smell wasn't really the problem. Masking Lucy's scent was the real issue here. He loved her scent. It made him feel calm, comfortable, at peace. Now he could only get a glimpse of it under all that annoying smoke. He turned on a fan to try to dissipate the smell from the apartment while he waited for the girl to finish her shower.
"There, is that better?" Lucy asked, coming out of the bathroom in clean clothes and drying her wet hair with a towel.
"Yes, thank you, that's a lot better" the dragon slayer sighed, feeling calmer already. Her scent was back, unaltered.
"Okay, mental note: never smoke around you" she said, sitting at the table with the towel hanging on her shoulders. At first she thought he was just nagging her, but seeing the relief on his face convinced her that he was really bothered by the cigarettes. "So, are we gonna play or what?"
"Let's!" he grinned, joining her at the table in a much better mood. Now he would just have to restrain himself from burying his face on her neck or hair to enjoy her scent better. But that's okay, he was used to it already.
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"Is something wrong, Lucy? Are you hurt?"
Natsu, Lucy and Gray were waiting outside a big building. They had just finished a job of capturing a gang and were pretty tired from fighting. Erza had gone talk to the mayor who had assigned the job and Wendy was with the exceeds, busy taking care of some town folk who had gotten in the middle of the battle. Natsu asked, because he noticed the blonde was restless. She couldn't stop pacing back and forth and seemed really anxious.
"Oh, no, no, it's nothing" she answered, waving her hand as if to brush it off. He watched as he walked a few more laps, biting her thumb's nail. "Okay, it's something!"
"What? If you're hurt, we can go to Wendy!" he said, worried.
"It's not that…" she replied, rubbing her hands together "It's just… I really need to smoke. Can you cover for me?"
"I knew you wouldn't stop that easily" Gray chuckled.
"Well, if Erza comes, make something up" she asked "I'll be back really soon"
"Come on, Lucy" the dragon slayer whined.
"Don't worry, I'll shower first thing once we get to the hotel!" she promised, running to the side of the building.
"I think I'll go with her… You know, to make sure nothing bad happens…" the ice mage told Natsu, walking backwards in Lucy's direction. "Just tell Erza I had to go find my clothes"
"Hell no!" he started to complain, but the dark haired man ran before he could say anything else. "Ugh…"
"Problem, Natsu?" a voice came from behind him, making him shiver in fear. "Where's Lucy and Gray?"
"They… hm… The Stripper lost his clothes again and they went to look for them" he groaned, avoiding Erza's gaze.
"Gray doesn't change…" she sighed. "I'm going to help Wendy, everything's already settled. Meet us at the hotel, okay?"
"Kay" he agreed and watched the armored mage walk away. As soon as she was out of sight, he went to the direction Lucy and Gray walked earlier. It wasn't long before he found the two of them on the back of the building. The blonde quickly hid something on her back when she saw him approaching. "It's okay, Erza went to Wendy, she said to meet them at the hotel"
"Oh, good" she said in relief, and brought her hands back with her purse. She looked inside and took her pink cigarette case, opening and taking a cigarette.
"Give me one too" asked Gray, anxious.
"I thought you quit" she raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but it doesn't kill to have one once in a while" he shrugged, and she handed him one of her cigarettes.
Natsu watched as she closed the case and put it back in her purse, and her hand came out again, but this time with a small metal object that caught his attention. It was a small red dragon, wrapped around himself and with his head pointing up. Lucy pulled his tail a few times, and a flame came out of its mouth.
"What a cool lighter!" he shouted in amazement, eyes wide and sparkling. "Can I see it?"
"Just a minute" she replied, taking the flame to the cigarette she was holding between her lips. She took some draughts until it was lit, then offered it to Gray. Once his cigarette was lit too, she let go of the dragon's tail, putting out the flame, and handed it to Natsu.
"Ohhh, yeah, that's the stuff" the dark haired man said, smiling in relaxation.
"Could you not strip while saying this?" Lucy asked, covering her eyes. "It's really creepy!"
"Oops, sorry!" he chuckled a little embarrassed, and put on his shirt again.
"Man, this is so awesome!" Natsu grinned, turning the lighter on and off in delight. "Where did you buy it?"
"Hm, Crocus, I think" the stellar spirit mage answered, although she didn't seem sure. "I remember that I thought about you the second I saw it"
"Did they have it in other colors?" questioned Gray, also interested.
"I don't remember…" she shook her head, trying to think.
"Can I have it?" the dragon slayer asked. "Pleeeease?"
"Sorry, Natsu" she gave him a sad smile "I don't have another lighter"
"I can lit your cigarettes for you" he argued.
"You don't like when I smoke, you won't be there every time I need it" she replied, taking the lighter from his hands. "Besides, I really like it too"
"But I want it!" he whined, not being able to give her a good reason for why he should have it.
"If I see another one, I'll buy it for you, okay?" she promised as she released a cloud of smoke.
"Why do you care if Lucy smokes or not?" Gray questioned, frowning.
"The smell bothers him" she explained, taking a long draught. "Okay, I think I'm good for now, let's head for the hotel"
"Here" the ice mage stretched out his hand covered in ice and they put their cigarettes out on it, and they made their way to the hotel. Once they arrived, Lucy waved goodbye, going to the girls' room, and they entered their own.
"Since when you don't like cigarette smell?" Gray asked, closing the door. "We tried it together for the first time, and it didn't seem like it bothered you at all"
"Mind your own business, Stripper" Natsu replied, sitting on his bed.
"This is about Lucy, isn't it?" he insisted with a smirk. "What, are you worried about her health? No, you're not the kind of person that thinks so ahead… It must be something else"
"Just let it go" the dragon slayer warned. He was very irritated already because Lucy and Gray were with a similar smell after smoking. She wasn't supposed to smell like any other person, let alone the stupid Fullbuster.
"She said she would shower…" Gray considered, putting his right hand on his chin. "Ah, I got it! It's her scent, you don't like that she has a different one!"
"I told you to let it GO!" he snapped, getting up and pushing the ice mage against the wall, finally letting out the will to punch him that had been inside him ever since Lucy lit his cigarette.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop" the dark haired man said, raising his hands defensively. That made Natsu's arm freeze before hitting him, and letting him go. Gray watched in silence as he went back to his bed. Normally he wouldn't mind exchanging a few punches with his dragon slayer partner, but this time he saw something on his look that told him if he went through, it would be a serious fight. Not that he thought he would lose to Natsu, but he certainly didn't want to start a fight over Lucy. He had no romantic interest in her, and that was something that could really end their friendship forever.
He decided to take a shower too. Something told him it wasn't wise to have even a faint smell like Lucy's near Natsu right now.
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Natsu and Happy arrived at the guild in the evening after a very long job. It wasn't hard, but it took a whole week. Well, almost a whole week. The client was so happy with the results, he released them a day early, saying they had done enough. Lucy hadn't joined them because she was behind schedule on her book, so she stayed to focus on writing. After grabbing something to eat at the guild, Natsu made his way to her apartment. He knew she would complain because he would disrupt her work, but he just missed her too damn much. Happy said he would join him after talking to Charle a little more.
The dragon slayer considered maybe he wouldn't be awake when Happy arrived. He was pretty tired. So tired, he didn't notice Lucy leaning at her window, and was startled to find himself face to face with her when he took impulse to climb inside.
"Wow! Natsu!" she yelled in surprise when his face showed up below hers. He was so taken aback, he slipped and fell, and Lucy leaned in to grab his hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" he answered, holding her hand to get a grip to climb again. In a few seconds he was inside. "Hey"
"Hey, I thought you'd be back only tomorrow" she said, seeming worried.
"The client decided six days were enough…" he explained. "What were you doing at the window?"
"Well…" she raised her hand, and he saw the lit cigarette in it.
"Oh" he nodded. Now that he was calmer, he could notice the smoke smell had taken all of her apartment. There were ashes everywhere, she must had smoke like a chimney during that week.
"I'm really sorry, I was gonna clean the apartment tomorrow morning" she argued, putting her cigarette out on an ashtray near the window.
"It's no big deal" he shrugged and sat on her bed, hoping his expression wouldn't give away that he was actually pretty upset. His favorite part of taking a long job like this was coming back to her apartment that was usually source of a calming scent. Now it was just a place filled with smoke. He could barely smell her under that layer. "It's your house, I don't live here, you don't have to go out of your routine just to please me"
"You… You're still my guest, I don't want to be a bad host" she said, hurrying to throw away the ashes from the ashtray. "How was the job?"
"It was…" Natsu started, but was interrupted by the doorbell. He sighed in relief. He didn't think he would be able to pretend much longer.
"I'll get that" Lucy said promptly, going to the door still with the ashtray on her hand. "Hi, E-Erza"
"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu heard the red head talking while she came inside followed by Happy, Charle, Wendy, Gray and Juvia. "What's this on your hand?"
"It's… It's…" the blonde stuttered, embarrassed.
"Hey, it's one of my limited edition ashtrays!" Gray yelled, taking it from her hands.
"Limited edition?" Juvia repeated.
"Ashtray?" Erza complemented, narrowing her eyes.
"Yeah, back when Fairy Tail was really hitting off, we started to sell all kinds of guild crap, remember?" he told, still looking at the ashtray, and cleaning the remains of ash to reveal the guild crest on the bottom. "So Gramps asked me to make… I think it was thirty ice ashtrays to sell as limited edition. He enchanted them so they wouldn't ever melt. I can't believe you have one, Lucy!"
"Yes… When the guild disbanded, Max found out one of these ashtrays had fallen on the back, actually" the stellar spirit mage said "So I got it"
"An object made by Gray-sama's bare hands?" Juvia asked, looking at the ashtray as if it was sacred. "Juvia wants one too!"
"Lucy, does that mean you're smoking again?" Erza asked, hands in hips.
"Yes, Erza" she admitted with a sad expression. "I'm sorry. It's hard to stop"
The armored mage sighed in disappointment, and silence fell among them as everyone waited to see what would be her reaction.
"It's fine" she said at last, crossing her arms.
"It's… Really?" Lucy asked, blinking in surprise.
"I understand it is difficult" the red head nodded, serious. "That's more reason why the decision should come from you. If you decide to stop and needs help, don't hesitate to ask"
"T-Thank you, Erza!" the blonde said with a small smile. "I will, definitely!"
"We came to invite you two to join us to a festival downtown" Wendy intervened with her thin voice. "There's lots of music, food and games!"
"Sounds wonderful!" Lucy agreed, her smile growing. "I'll just take a quick shower, it'll take only a few minutes!"
They all made themselves comfortable while their blonde friend went inside her bathroom. Once Natsu was sure Lucy wouldn't hear them, he made his way to Erza, since he didn't like the interaction he had just watched at all.
"Erza, come on, if you let it go, she's never gonna stop smoking!" the dragon slayer begged in desperation.
"I'm not letting it go, I just think my previous approach wasn't the best" the red head explained.
"Then what are you going to do now?"
"Natsu… Think about Lucy's smoking for a minute" she sighed, joining her hands. "She started when we were apart… She uses a strawberry cake cigarette case, she has an ice ashtray and Gray told me about the dragon lighter. These things really don't say anything to you?"
"She missed us" Gray pointed out with a sad smile. "She smoked to alleviate the anxiety, to remember us"
"Exactly" Erza nodded. "The best thing we can do is be there for her. Soon she'll realize that she doesn't need this as a replacement anymore"
"A replacement…" Natsu repeated quietly, considering his friends' words.
He knew their year apart had been tough on Lucy. Now that it was presented, it didn't seem such a crazy theory that she developed an addiction like this to deal with it. But if that was the case, why did it come back? She hadn't smoked right after their reunion. Maybe something else triggered her need for it again. He looked around. She had smoked even more than normal this past week. He wondered if it had something to do with his absence.
Natsu came to the conclusion that Erza was right. They would be able to help Lucy better if they understood what exactly was going on. And to do that, the best way was to be there for her.
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Lucy tried to concentrate as she fought to light her lighter with numb and trembling fingers. It was winter and it was so cold everyone was sure it would start to snow soon. The blonde had stepped out of the guild to smoke for a bit. Even though her friends had accepted it, she still didn't really like smoking in front of everyone. The only people smoking were Macao, Wakaba, the Master and other older males, it made her feel like an old woman herself.
The stellar spirit mage had put on a heavy coat and a scarf, but it was no use, she was still freezing. She held the cigarette firmly in her mouth to stop her teeth from chattering and pulled the little dragon's tail over and over again to make the little flame appear, but it just wouldn't come. The damn lacrima inside it must be wearing out, she thought in desperation. Suddenly she heard the noise of fire consuming air close to her, but the lighter remained out. She raised her gaze and found Natsu standing in front of her with a smile, his arm stretched towards her, offering a flame involved around his index finger.
Natsu watched Lucy's annoyed expression turn into a warm smile of relief as she leaned close to him, accepting his offer. She let his flame lick the cigarette's tip, sucking the air in when it was finally lit and closing her eyes as white smoke came out of her mouth. He let the fire die and retreated his arm.
"Thank you so much!" she said, taking the cigarette out of her mouth and holding it with her delicate fingers. He noticed they were purple and she was slightly trembling with cold.
"You're welcome" he replied with a grin, glad to have come check on her as soon as he noticed she had left the guild hall. It broke his heart to see her alone in the cold like that. "Your lighter isn't working?"
"Oh, it is, but it's always harder for the lacrima to work when it's so cold" she explained, showing him the lighter and demonstrating by pulling the trigger a few more times.
"Can I try it?" he asked, and she nodded, handing him the lighter. He took it and pulled the little dragon's tail himself. Instantly a flame appeared at the dragon's mouth. "Seems to work fine to me!"
"Not fair, you're a fire mage, you can get anything fire related working!" she complained with a little yell, and he only laughed at her. "Give me that!"
"Geez, Lucy, your hand is ice cold" he pointed out when he put the lighter back in her hand. He involved her small hand in his two large ones and held it like this for a while to warm it up.
"T-Thanks" she mumbled. Her cheeks were red, but it could be a reaction to the cold wind. He let go of her hand, slipping it inside her pocket to make sure the warmth would be preserved, and started walking. Lucy's smile melted away, since she thought he would be going back to the guild.
So she was pretty surprised when he stopped right behind her, leaning his back against her own. He was warm like a radiator, and she felt the cold going away as the heat spread to her whole body.
"Natsu, you don't have to be here" she said, blushing as the false words came out of her mouth in opposition to her heart, that really wanted him to stay. "Go inside, I'll follow in a minute"
"The ice prick and the iron bastard are being annoying" he replied. "I'd rather stay here"
"But… I know the smoke bothers you" the blonde argued with sadness. She hated this addiction that drew Natsu away from her. She wished she could stop.
"It's not that bad, I was mostly teasing you" he said with a chuckle. "You look like an old rag smoking like that, you know? Your voice gets kind of harsh"
"Well, then go somewhere else!" she yelled in indignation, but he just laughed harder.
"It's fine" he said at last. "If it's Lucy, then I can get used to anything"
Lucy couldn't find any reply for that. She felt her face get hot and her head light as her lips curled in a big smile. Why did he have to be sweet like that? It was so much easier when he was just rude and inconsiderate. She stared at the cigarette in her hand, the feeling getting bittersweet.
"Lucy, look!" the dragon slayer shouted, startling her. "It's snowing!"
The blonde looked up. Snowflakes were falling from the sky all around them. The ground was gradually becoming white, but Natsu was so warm they were inside a circle untouched by the snow, since it melted when it got too close.
"Well, I guess it's not so bad out here after all" she chuckled. "Thanks for keeping me company, Natsu"
The fire mage only laughed and threw his head back, leaning against the top of Lucy's head. With this reassuring weight, Lucy noticed she had barely touched the lit cigarette in her hand during all this interaction. She let it fall on the ground and stepped on it, putting it out as she heard the people from the guild coming outside to see the snow falling.
If it's with Natsu, she was sure she could let go of this bad habit.
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"Hey, everyone"
Lucy approached the table at where her friends were sitting. Something in her attitude made them all turn to her.
"What's up?" Natsu asked, happy to see that she wasn't smelling like smoke like the last few days.
"Well, I have something for you guys" she said, taking some objects from her purse. "Here, Erza"
"Oh, you strawberry cake cigarette case!" the red head said happily as she handed her the pink case.
"Don't worry, I've cleaned it, you can use to put anything you want" the blonde quickly added. "Gray, I was going to give you the ashtray, but I think Juvia will like it better"
"Thank you so much, Lucy-san!" the water mage said with sparkling eyes as she received the clean ashtray. "This is going to my Gray-sama collection!"
"And here it is, Natsu, the dragon lighter you wanted" she said at last, putting the lighter on the fire mage's hand.
"Why are you giving me it now?" he asked confused, still holding her hand along with the lighter.
"Ah, well, you see, that was the plan all along" she explained, looking down. "I promised myself I would stop smoking once the guild came back, and I would give you guys these things to make sure of it"
"Does that mean…?" Erza started with a smile of hope.
"Yes, yes, I'm quitting" Lucy nodded. "I'll stop smoking, starting today"
"That's great, Lucy!" Natsu yelled, getting up and hugging her. His grin freeze once he realized that must have been pretty weird, and he quickly let go of her and focused his attention on his new lighter.
"Is there anything we can do to help you, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked to break the tension, since everyone was staring at Natsu with smug expressions.
"Yes, actually" the blonde answered, still a little flustered from Natsu's sudden hug. "For the next few weeks, I'm going to be really, really cranky. So please bear with me until I go back to normal"
"Well, can't be much worse than regular Erza" Gray chuckled, quickly adding once the armored mage turned to him: "Just kidding, just kidding!"
"Don't worry, Lucy" the red head told her after deciding it wasn't worth beating Gray over this "We're here for you"
"And I'm gonna eat like a lot" she informed, looking at Happy "So I'll be glad if you keep the fat jokes to a minimum"
"I'll try, I promise" the blue exceed replied, raising his right paw.
"Lucy-san, when the abstinence symptoms get too hard, you can come to me for some relief" the sky dragon slayer said. "But it only works a few times, after that it wears it off"
"Thank you so much, Wendy" the stellar spirit mage smiled warmly at her.
"Guess I lost my occasional cigarette buddy" Gray sighed "But, between Natsu and Erza, it's probably better for my health"
"And better for mine, considering Juvia" Lucy complemented.
"Well Juvia couldn't help be afraid that Gray-sama would fall in love with her love rival in this smoking sessions" the bluenette explained with tears in her eyes.
"And why Natsu?" asked Erza, frowning.
"Anyway" the fire dragon slayer interrupted them when the ice mage opened his mouth to reply. "The thing is that you have our full support, Lucy"
The blonde smiled as they continued to argue. She really had wonderful friends.
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No one had taken Lucy's warning very seriously when she asked them for patience, so they were pretty surprise to find that 'cranky' was an understatement for her behavior the next days. She was always super irritated and snapped at everybody, always with an acid and sarcastic comment to anyone who dared say anything to her. Even Erza started to avoid her, because she had no good answers and at the same time couldn't physically punish Lucy. The only one that didn't seem affected was Natsu. He laughed her insults off and did his best not to get in her nerves. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, Lucy was the sweetest girl ever, she was just in a lot of pain.
"Lucy, you asked me not to let you ruin your nails" he said, pulling her hand delicately of her mouth, since she was biting them with no mercy.
"Then I guess I'll just have to bite your stupid head off!" she replied, annoyed.
"Here, here, there's a lot of things for you to bite, Lucy" Mira said, bringing her a tray filled with several snacks.
"About time!" she answered, grabbing a bunch of french fries with one hand. "I ordered a decade ago, were you growing the damn potatoes?"
"She doesn't mean it" Natsu said quickly as Mira took a deep breath. If this came from anyone else in any other situation, they'd have to face the she-demon.
"I know, I know" she agreed, grinding her teeth and walking away.
"Try to calm down, sweetie, you'll still want to have friends after this is passed" he advised, stretching his hand to grab some chips, but she slapped him away.
"Ugh, since when do you call me sweetie?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "You're also annoying me being this nice"
"I suspect even breathing would annoy you" he chuckled, trying to take other snacks and being slapped away.
"Watch your weight…" Happy started talking, and Lucy turned to him with a deadly look. "…Natsu, you should definitely watch your weight"
"Hah, thanks!" he replied, since he was able to steal some food when the exceed distracted the blonde.
"You two are the worst…" she mumbled, shoving some onion rings in her mouth. Soon all the plates were empty. Natsu noticed Macao and Wakaba were about to lit their cigars, and thought this were their cue to leave.
"Let's go home" he proposed, getting up. "We can play some board games"
"Okay…" she agreed, suddenly too tired to insult him.
"I'll stay here a little longer" Happy informed. "Wendy and Charle will be back at any minute"
They waved him goodbye and walked to Lucy's apartment. Natsu was staying over for the past days because she was having some trouble sleeping, and he would stay with her until she fell asleep, so she wouldn't be too tempted to smoke. He could see she was suffering, he only wished he could do more for her.
"Damn, I want a cigarette so badly" she said once they arrived, sitting on the couch and burying her face on her hands.
"What do you like so much about the cigarettes anyway?" Natsu asked, curious, sitting next to her. "I've tried, it's no big deal"
"It's not about liking it, the thing is that it's addicting, you idiot" she snapped at him. "I've became addicted, and now it's hard not to do it"
He watched her, holding her head on her hands, trembling, sweating. He could see she wasn't being dramatic, that was really painful for her.
"Come on, there's gotta be something we can do…" he got up, anxious to help relieve her of this pain. "Why did you start in the first place?"
"You're not gonna like this" she shook her head with a chuckle. "But I liked the smell"
"The smell?" he twisted his nose. "Really?"
"Yeah… The paper burning… The smoke… They had a calming effect" she told him, still looking down. The smell reminded her of him. It wasn't exactly the same, he smelled more of a campfire, but it was the closest she got during their year apart, and she missed him so much she would go for crumbles.
"Well, then… Let's burn something here, too" he proposed, taking a sheet of paper from her desk and setting the corner of it on fire. "Here, does it help?"
"A little" she gave him a small smile. Seeing him worry for her like that helped much more.
"What else?" he asked. "What else did you enjoy in smoking?"
"Hm…" she kept looking at the flame consuming the paper, thinking if she should share this with Natsu. "I liked that… When I breathed, the smoke came burning, from my mouth all the way to my lungs…"
She showed him, running her delicate finger from her mouth through her neck and stopping at her chest.
"You liked that it burned?" he repeated with a chuckle. "Weirdo"
"Says the guy that actually eats fire" she replied, rocking back and forth. "Ugh, this is the worst…"
She didn't notice Natsu approaching her until he was right in front of her. He took her hand in his, removing it from her face, and pulled her so she would be on her feet. Then he touched her chin with his other hand, making her look up to him.
"W-What are you doing?" she asked in alarm, blushing to how close he was.
"Stay still" he ordered, looking at her like he was measuring something. "I think I can help. Close your eyes"
"Why?" she was still very wary about this.
"Just do it" he insisted, adding when she remained looking at him with suspicion: "Trust me"
"Okay" she sighed in annoyance, closing her eyes with a frown.
He pulled her chin delicately so her mouth would open, and peeked inside, considering his idea. He felt her minty breath and blinked when his mind clouded for a moment. The he leaned, coming so close that a little more and his nose would touch hers.
"Take a deep breath through your mouth" he instructed.
At the same time Lucy inspired, he let out a faint version of his dragon's roar, letting a little bit of fire go inside her mouth, just enough so she would feel the burning sensation, but without hurting her.
The feeling was so unexpected, Lucy opened her eyes in surprise, to find Natsu's face centimeters away from her, his lips so close to hers even a small bump would make them touch. Her face got flustered and she stepped back, taking her hand to her mouth, and Natsu seemed disappointed.
"So? Did it help?" he asked quickly to hide his reaction. "Was it similar to when you smoke?"
"Y-Yes" she lied, looking down. It wasn't similar at all. It was a hundred times better. The cigarette could never replace this. "Thank you"
"Happy to help" he grinned, turning his head so she wouldn't notice he was a little flustered himself. Getting so close to Lucy made her scent that much stronger, and it made his head a little light.
They stayed quiet for a while, avoiding each other's gaze and trying to calm themselves. Natsu peeked at her and noticed her fingers were trembling.
"You're still shaking" he said, worried. "Wanna do it again?"
"Okay" she agreed promptly, turning back to him and closing her eyes, with her face up and mouth already half opened.
Natsu held her shoulder with his right hand to try and stabilize himself. His legs were weak, he wasn't sure they could support him through this again. He brought his lips close to hers once again and hoped she couldn't hear his heart beating like crazy.
"Breathe" he said, blowing the fire sparks inside her mouth. She breathed, but this time she tripped a little, and their noses touched. She turned to cough a bit, and he was left with an even bigger feeling of disappointment than last time. If they had approached just a little more…
"Was it too hot?" he asked once the mist in his head cleared a little. "Did it hurt?"
"No, no, I just choked" she assured him. When their noses touched, she gasped in the middle of her breath, leading to the choking. "I coughed a lot when I first started smoking"
"Then I guess it's working" he grinned. "Do you still miss it?"
"No, no, it's a very good replacement. Much better than the patches" she replied with a small smile. "I think one more and I'm good for the night"
"One more? Okay" he agreed eagerly, and they got closer again. This time he held her face, accidentally brushing her bottom lip with his thumb, which sent a shiver down his spine. He positioned himself above her a third time, and let his nose rest against hers as their lips stayed inches from one another. "Breathe"
Lucy inspired once again, swallowing his fire and feeling as it burned against her insides. Then she let the air out through her nose. She waited for Natsu to release her, but he remained holding her in the same position. She cracked her eyes open to look at him. He was flustered, his pupils had taken most of his eyes and he was breathing heavily.
"Natsu? You can let go of me now" she whispered.
"I don't really want to" he replied, closing his eyes, and moved his face, nuzzling his nose against hers. Lucy felt an electric current take her whole body that made her move and end the distance between their lips. She closed her eyes too, afraid to see rejection on his face, but this fear was quickly forgotten as he passed his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer, receiving her lips in his own as if he needed them to survive. She got on the tip of her feet, also eager to make as much contact as possible.
Natsu's lips was so inebriating they made the pain and discomfort go away, and all thoughts flee from her head. Right now, as far as she was concerned, only they existed. His lips were warm, soft and much more addicting than anything else she had tasted.
Natsu was having a similar experience. All this time he had been so worried about Lucy's scent, he didn't even stop to think that she may taste even better, something he was finding out right now. The discovery was taking all the self-control he had so hardly developed to be around her. He didn't want his lips to leave hers unless it was to kiss other parts of her skin, like her chin, her neck, her…
"Lucyyyyy!" a voice came from far away, accompanied by loud knocks. They separated, startled.
"Just a minute!" she answered, putting a hand on her head to try and clear her mind. She knew Natsu was still very close to her, and she could hear his heavy breathing, but she didn't look at him. She just wasn't sure what would happen if she did. "I'm coming"
Natsu watched Lucy stumble to the door, avoiding his gaze. He licked his lips, disappointed their kiss was finished, and sat down on the couch again, trying his best to stay put and not give in to the urges of grab his blonde partner to himself.
At last, Lucy opened the door, and stayed some good moments just standing and looking at her visitors.
"Wendy… Happy, Charle. Come in" she finally said, stepping back to give them space.
"Are you okay, Lucy-san?" the young girl asked, looking at her with a worried expression. "The people at the guild said you were suffering pretty bad today"
"I really was" she admitted, sitting on the armchair as Wendy sat on the couch next to Natsu. "Bet everyone wants to kill me… But I'm feeling better now"
"Really?" Charle insisted, examining her face. "There's no need to act tough, if you're in pain, ask for Wendy's help"
"No, I'm really feeling better" the blonde guaranteed. "I think it's because here is calmer, and quieter"
"Oh, okay then, I'm happy to hear it" the bluenette said with a smile. "I brought you some chocolates we bought during our job, I thought you would like them"
"Thanks, I love it!" she replied, smiling too. After some more small talk, they got up to leave.
"I'll spend the night at Fairy Hills, Lucy, Natsu" Happy informed as he joined Wendy and Charle. "Don't worry, Lucy, it has nothing to do with how grumpy you are in the morning"
"Fine, fine" she nodded with a chuckle, trying to hid how nervous that made her. She and Natsu, alone that night.
She closed the door behind them and the apartment became silent. She had no idea what to say to Natsu, so she stayed by the door, playing with the doorknob.
"Lucy" his voice called her, breaking the silence.
"Y-Yes?" she answered, turning to him.
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, deadly serious.
"No" she replied quickly. "Please, don't, I need you here"
Natsu relaxed to the sound of these words. He was worried she might be mad at him. Lucy, on the other hand, almost kicked herself to hear what came out of her mouth. It was true, absolutely true, but why would she said it like this, right after they kissed? He may get the wrong idea.
"I think I'll go to sleep, do you mind?" she questioned, trying to fix the situation.
"No, go ahead, I'm tired too" he answered with a smile that reassured her. He didn't try to convince her to let him sleep on the bed, just lying on the couch. She felt a stung of guilt, but made her way to bed anyway, lying too. She was so tired, and yet she didn't expect to fall asleep so quickly.
When Lucy woke up, the apartment was completely dark. Her head hurt, she was shaking, and she felt nauseated. She ran to the bathroom, afraid she might throw up. After some minutes, the nausea went away and she washed her face and brushed her teeth to feel better. She went back to bed quietly, but couldn't sleep. She was restless. She wanted something. She needed…
"Natsu" she called in a low voice. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm here" he answered after a few moments. She was so relieved she didn't even consider why he would be awake at this hour.
"Can you come here, please?" she asked shyly. She saw his figure leave the couch and walk towards her. "I need… I need you to do that thing again"
"Okay" he agreed, sitting on the bed so he was facing her. The night was silent, but they both were almost deaf from the sound of their pounding hearts on their ears. "Lie down"
She did, resting her head on the pillow and opening her mouth. This time she didn't close her eyes, watching him come close to her and position his lips right above hers, his arms on each side of her, supporting his weight.
"Brea…" he started to say, but was interrupted when Lucy pulled his head to her, making their lips meet again. He reacted quickly, slipping his hands from her sides to her back and bringing her closer to him. She still had her hands on his hair, which she had used to pull him, and loosened her grip, sliding them to his face and stroking it gently. They stopped the kiss to breathe, but remained close to each other, their breaths mixing in a heat air.
"I thought you wanted the fire thing…" he mumbled, still confused.
"No" she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, and he could swear her big brown eyes were able to see his soul. "I needed you"
The only response he could give was kissing her with more passion. This was a need he was happy to fulfill for her as much as she wanted.