Previously
It was an eerie feeling. She wanted to believe that it was Natsu but if he had been watching her the whole time, why was she only feeling it now?
"And my recent feeling that I'm being watched was also because of you, right?" she asked, and when he gave a her a confused expression, her blood ran cold.
"What do you mean Lucy?"
Chapter 5 (Hormones and Embarrassed Lucy)
Lucy didn't think that she'd get even more embarrassed in her whole life. Waking up to see a sleeping teenage boy with his erection obvious inside the tight clothing was enough to set her face on fire.
She knew that it was normal for teenage boys to experience that, but she couldn't help the feeling of embarrassment growing inside her.
Damn Natsu for being stubborn! She knew that she shouldn't have slept in the same bed with him.
Last night's events suddenly came rushing to her and she couldn't help but feel worried. Someone was watching her, and while she wanted to say that it was nothing, Natsu's expression told her that it wasn't.
She just wished that everything was going to be alright.
.
.
.
"What do you mean Lucy?", he said, surprised at her words.
She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck. She looked at his eyes and unconsciously licked her dry lips.
"Maybe it was just my imagination. You know, since I'm an author and they say that authors have a very wide imagination, not that other people don't have it, but what I'm saying is maybe, maybe there is someone out there watching me for a month now and I'm not really having a good feeling about it because it's giving me the creeps..."
"Luce! Luce! Look at me, stop rambling."
And she did. She stared at his onyx eyes and pursed her lips to stop them from quivering. She felt his grip on his shoulders and somehow, it was comforting.
"Luce. Calm down. Can you tell me all about it?"
"I don't even know if it's real.", she whispered.
"If it can scare you like this. I know it's real enough." She was taken aback by his words and the way he looked at her intensely. It was enough to make her smile.
"I'm not scared."
"And you don't have to be, because I'm here to protect you.. Always."
"Always?", she asked.
"Always."
.
.
.
And that brings her to this current predicament of sleeping beside Natsu. The boy claimed that he wouldn't sleep anywhere without her. Things like protecting her and making sure she was alright were thrown out in their argument last night and in the end, she really couldn't say no to him.
Her eyes landed on that particular spot and she could feel her cheeks heating up again. She carefully sat up and tried to get out of the bed. She glanced at the teen's sleeping face and couldn't help but notice the change in his features.
Her baby Natsu was already a young adult. It seemed like yesterday when she was still feeding him and taking a bath with- wait a minute...
Natsu saw her naked, well he was just a baby then, but still! She groaned and squirmed a little while covering her face. Her movement seemed to have disturbed the sleeping boy beside her as he lightly moaned.
"Luce.", he murmured and tiredly moved his arm, as if he was looking for her. She squeaked a little when his arm landed on her torso. He sighed and wrapped his arm around the blonde's waist.
"Mate.", he said sleepily and Lucy couldn't help but smile at him. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. She ran a hand through his pink locks and frowned when her hand felt something poking out. She moved closer to him and brushed his pink locks away.
She let out a gasp and lightly skimmed her fingers over it. She heard him purr and sighed blissfully at the action. He moved a little until his back was flat on the bed and that's when she saw it.
Two pointed thingies were coming out of his head and although they weren't that noticeable because of his spiky locks, they were still there. She stared at it longer until her eyes widened in realization.
Are these horns she's seeing?
Lucy didn't know why, but the city was bustling with activities that day. There was singing and other street performances. Her eyes widened with excitement and she could tell that Natsu felt ecstatic too.
"There's so many food!"
Of course that's, the first thing he noticed.
"Well why don't we go buy some?", she offered, a bit ticked that the baby she was carrying before was almost as tall as her.
Is she really that short?!
Natsu height increased drastically. A fact that she didn't notice earlier that morning. Probably because she was distracted with- she groaned and tried to stop her thoughts from going further. What was she thinking about before again? The height.
Yup, the height. The long height.. Damnit!
Anyway, she couldn't remember growing up to that height during her teenage years. In fact, she couldn't remember growing much at all! She scowled and fought the urge to growl.
"Hello, Lucy.", said a female voice.
She was snapped out of her reverie when she heard her name. She quickly turned around and looked for the source of the voice but found no one calling her.
"Luce?", said Natsu.
"Uh. Yeah?", she answered and willed herself to stop searching and look at Natsu.
"I said I want pizza."
"Yeah, sure, let's go.", he beamed at her words and she smiled at him as he grabbed her hand and took her to the nearest pizza stand.
Unwillingly, she looked behind her then sighed. Maybe she was just being paranoid.
Natsu beamed at Lucy. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him, though there was something off about her smile... and he knew why.
She could feel it.
While he could see her. He could see the woman, looking at them with a playful smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
He glared at the figure when Lucy wasn't looking but it just giggled at him.
He hated it.
He hated the feeling that he was being played with. But he couldn't fight.
Not in this crowd.
Not in front of Lucy.
Because he was still afraid. Afraid that she would hate seeing his demon-form. He knew that Lucy was kind and crazy enough to continue trusting him but he couldn't help but feel insecure about their difference.
She's a human. He's a demon. Is there a chance that she will love him the same way he loves her?
And if ever she did love him, would she be willing to come with him? Would she be willing to leave her life, her friends, her everything, in the human world just so she can be with him?
He grabbed her hand and he relished the way his hand fit hers perfectly.
Screw the what-ifs. He loves Lucy and if she won't love him back, he'll just consider himself lucky to fall for someone like her.
Yup. That's what matters.
"Hey, Luce.", Natsu murmured while looking at Lucy lick her ice cream. They were sitting on the swing at the playground in the park after checking out all of the attractions. They learnt that Magnolia was celebrating the Dragon King Festival. They weren't able to get more details but it was alright.
"Yeah?", the blonde replied distractedly as she tried to eat her ice cream. It was melting fast because of the heat and now her hands felt a bit sticky.
"I feel a bit weird."
"What weird?"
"I feel hot."
"Well, it is hot outside. I don't know what's weird about that." Natsu paused.
Was that it? But why did it feel... different. He watched the blonde as she continued licking her ice cream. His eyes trained on her lips that was covered in vanilla ice cream.
"Hey Luce. Can I have some?"
"Hmm?", she asked.
"I feel hot. Maybe the ice cream will help."
"Uh, sure. But why don't you just buy one?"
"'Cause I like this one.", he replied, and before Lucy could comprehend what he said, he leaned in and captured her lips. She stiffened when he pressed his lips on hers. She felt like time had stopped and all of her senses focused on Natsu.
On his warm hand that was placed on her shoulders...
On his soft lips that were in contact with hers...
On his playful tongue, as it gently licked the lingering vanilla ice cream on her bottom lip.
When he pulled away with lips still centimers away from her, that's when it all clicked.
He.. He kissed her!
She felt dizzy, like all of her blood rushed to her head. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears.
"You're right Luce..."
She shivered, his hot breath fanning her slightly open mouth.
"...vanilla ice cream is better."
He said then started walking away. She fumed. Either with embarassment or anger, she'll never know. But one thing is clear and her mind's screaming it.
'That sneaky little devil!'
"Don't do that again!", she said the moment they got home.
"Do what?", he asked nonchalantly.
"You know what!"
"Ah, but I don't. So why don't you enlighten me with a kiss Lu-cy?", he smirked and with the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Lucy grasped that he knew what she was talking about.
She didn't even know if she should be angry for it. It was just a kiss! She shared a lot with her other ex-boyfriends and she shouldn't make a big deal over one measly kiss.
And she definitely shouldn't feel like all of her blood was rushing to her head just by thinking of his lips pressed to hers and the warmth she felt and-
"Why are you so red Luce? Are you sick?", he suddenly said in a worried tone.
"I'm angry okay?!"
Yup. Angry. Not blushing alright?! She was 24. Not an easily embarassed teenager.
So yeah, she so did not blush at all.
"You look so matured.", Lucy commented. They were sitting on the sofa, watching random movies.
"Do I?"
She stopped her hand from grabbing some popcorn and looked at him. Her eyes travelled from his bare feet to his eyes.
(She'll later deny that she checked him out longer than necessary because he suddenly became more manly in her eyes.)
"Yeah. Your voice changed too.", she said. The blonde grabbed the popcorn and willed herself to focus on the movie.
"Oh. I didn't notice. Is it bad?"
In the corner of her eyes, she saw him look at her. His brows were furrowed and he looked a little conflicted.
"Not really.", she replied. His voice was deeper but not too deep like other men. It was perfect. She liked it. Not that she'd say it out loud.
"I just feel weird. I mean, I don't remember feeling like this before in my world. But now..."
She stopped eating then stared at him.
"Yeah, most teens feel that way. There just so many sudden changes and it... scares them I guess. I don't really have a brother or know any teenage boy so I don't know what to say. You also grow faster than other people so you may feel even more different. But Natsu, those are just physical changes. You're still Natsu. That won't change."
He didn't reply, but Lucy could see that he was happy. His wide grin said it all.
"So, Natsu.", she said slowly, then faced him. She leaned closer and tangled her hands in his hair. He gulped at their closeness. His eyes trailed on her lips that were inches from his.
"What are these?", she said. For a moment, he was confused, but when she brushed her fingers on his horns, all of his hair stood in bliss. His hands immediately shot up to her hand on his hair while trying to fight the blush on his cheeks.
"Don't.", he breathed out.
And when Lucy raised a brow and gave him an amused and mischievous smile, he knew that he was so screwed.
Thank you!
Anne-Marie Helstone, TpLoz, Guest, , Ladz, Guest, idevourbooks, DestinysRequiem, Meowie07, Senbei x Cup Ramen, SolidScriptJess, MeGustaZeref, Black Fox Kenzie, TigerArrowgirl, Rose Tiger, and Sawakaze-Steph and the people who followed and favorited this story.
Thanks IamInk for beta-reading! :D
EDITED-11-03-18 *UNDER CONSTRUCTION* I totally did not change much in this chapter. And heyyy, I'm not such a bad writer before.