3. Cabin-Sharing and a Spell Unravelled

"…and this will be your room. I hope it is to your liking," Mr Breichs announced with a wave of his withered hand. Lucy looked at Natsu, and then looked back at the old man. He didn't seem to be addressing one of them specifically.

"Um, which one of us is in this room?" Lucy asked awkwardly. Mr Breichs looked surprised. Lucy noted the expression and felt a rising panic. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Don't tell me…

"Oh, you two are sharing. I hope you don't mind, I just don't want to occupy anymore cabins then I have to," he said.

"But you have tonnes of vacancies, right? Surely one more wouldn't be an issue?"

"Sorry, Miss…?

"Heartfilia. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Miss Heartfilia. Sorry, but it's just not possible. If I'm to run a profitable business, I have to take these kinds of measures. Besides, you and Mr…?"

"Natsu Dragneel," Lucy growled menacingly.

"Yes, you and Mr Dragneel are in the same guild, right? So it shouldn't be a problem, right? Anyway, Goodnight and good luck!" Before Lucy had a chance to argue further, he tottered off into the night, practically disappearing. Lucy's jaw dropped. If he's so concerned about those ghosts, he could be a bit more hospitable to the people getting rid of them!

"Oh well. Come on Lucy, let's get to bed," Natsu said, walking in and dropping his bags at the foot of the bed. Lucy trailed after him, feeling like she was in some kind of ridiculous dream. Eventually, she found her voice again.

"Y-you… You don't mind sharing with me?" Lucy asked, taken aback.

"Of course not. We're partners. Partners share. Why would I mind?" he responded, looking confused. There it was again, that obliviousness. He couldn't see anything sexual about sharing a bed with her. It made things so much harder, knowing he wouldn't understand her feelings, no matter how strong they were. Lucy swallowed, looking away.

"Thanks, Natsu," she said quietly. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. Lucy grabbed her bag, still packed with Natsu's idea of her 'usual gear', and locked herself in the tiny bathroom. She unzipped the bag, and fished around. She felt her fingers brush something silky, and pulled out a lavender bra, lined with black lace. Did he feel anything for her, when he saw this? Anything at all?

She cast it away, and emptied the contents of the bag onto the grimy white tile. The mountain of underwear tumbled out, followed by the baggy white t-shirt she wore to bed, and a small piece of paper. Lucy frowned. What was that?

Lucy picked up the bit of paper and quickly realised it was a note. She began to read.

Dear Lucy,

I hope I got all your stuff! This is gonna be a great mission!

P.S. Where do you put your butt in those things?

Lucy glanced over to the pile of panties, and pulled out a very lacy, very skimpy G-string. You mean these, Natsu?

She shook her head, and started shoving everything back into the bag. She left out a pair of cotton boy shorts, the least racy thing in there, for bed.

She didn't feel mad at him. She didn't feel anything at all.

When Lucy finally emerged from the bathroom, she was dressed for bed. Natsu sat on the mattress in just his boxers. He looked very sleepy. When he saw her, he smiled and stood up. "Hey Luce," he greeted, voice husky. "Are you ok? You seemed kind of upset before. Do you not want to share with me?"

Lucy smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't mind sharing with you. I'm fine." Before she could walk away, she felt a set of arms wrap around her, and she was pressed against a rock-hard chest. Natsu rested his head on top of hers as she stood, stunned, in his arms.

"You can tell me anything, Lucy. You know that, right?" he asked. Lucy could feel his throat rumble as he spoke. It was kind of tickly, in a warm, comforting way. She felt herself relax into his embrace. Lucy smiled into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah, I know," she whispered. She felt him move her backwards a couple of steps, before, picking her up and laying her on the bed. She was shocked by the sudden movement, but didn't yell or jump. She felt too content for that.

Natsu got on the other side of the bed, and shot her a smile. "I promise I won't touch you," he said quietly, taking her hand. Lucy's eyes widened. He'd realised she was upset, but he'd thought… He'd thought she was scared he'd take advantage of her?

"Natsu… I trust you to take care of me," she smiled, leaning into him. This time it was Natsu's turn to be surprised. Was she going to let him hold her or something? After a moment of thought, he flicked off the light and pulled the sheets up over them. Wrapping his arms around her, he felt something strange. Something he hadn't ever felt before.

Before he could think his next actions through, he pressed his lips to her forehead. Lucy's eyes snapped open as she felt the soft, chaste kiss against her skin. Thoughts raced through her head. He's kissing me… He's holding me… He's protecting me… He likes me? Before she had time to think further, he pulled back. "Good night, Lucy."

Lucy felt torn. For a split second, she wanted to lean up and kiss him back, on the lips this time. But would it be too far? Lucy just smiled, too happy and too sleepy to ponder anymore. That kiss could wait. For now, she was just happy to be in his arms.

"Good night, Natsu."

I love you, she finished in her head.

When Natsu woke the next morning, her could feel something light and soft spread over his upper chest, and a heavier pressure just above his hips. As he blinked away the dazed remnants of sleep, he remembered Lucy and the night before. He wasn't sure how, but she had ended up lying on top of him.

With her head resting on his chest, and her boobs resting next to his-

Natsu's eyes snapped wide open. He looked down at Lucy. Her face was angelic in sleep, with her soft, blonde hair cushioning her pink cheeks, and soft, slow breaths drifting from an open mouth. She was so peaceful; he didn't really want to wake her.

Natsu felt something stir in his boxers, and his mind was made up. "Lucy," he hissed. "Lucy! Wake up!" He watched for a moment, waiting for a response. She let out a soft moan, not helping the situation down below. "Lucy!" he called, a little louder. "Oy, Lucy!"

His prayers were answered, as her eyes drifted open, brown and hazy. "Mmph,' she groaned. "Morning Nat-"

"I need to pee!" he yelled, and somehow, defying all laws of physics, vanished from beneath her and fled to the bathroom within the space of a mere second. Lucy watched as the door slammed behind him, jolting her from her sleepy state. She blinked stupidly, before sighing and collapsing into a pillow again.

It had been the best sleep of her life, and she had no idea whether or not he shared the notion.

Lucy stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about the dragon slayer she'd spent the night with. It was so strange to her; how she could love so many different things about the one person. When they'd arrived at White Shore, he was normal Natsu; playful and happy, if a little immature. Then, when he saw she was upset, he went through a complete character overhaul. Suddenly, he was her rock, supporting her and caring for her. Lucy loved both faces. She loved that he was fun and exciting, and she loved that he cared so much about the people in his life. About his family. About her.

Lucy looked over to the clock on the bedside table, and gasped. It was 5 in the morning! The sun had barely started to rise! Was Natsu always up this early?

Natsu twisted the taps on the furiously, until a cold jet of water spouted from the showerhead. He didn't know much about this himself, but he'd heard some of the guys back at the guild talking about the wonders of cold showers. The ice exhibitionist didn't think they helped at all, for obvious reasons.

The icy water was shocking and uncomfortable, but it did the trick. After a minute or so, he felt the pressure ease in his crotch, and his awkward erection was gone. Natsu sighed in relief, and leaned against the wall of the shower. Lucy would kill him if she found out how his body reacted to hers, he was sure of it.

Maybe she wouldn't, a little voice argued in his head. Maybe she wants the same things. Natsu thought for a moment, before shaking his head. Lucy was his friend. Unless she gave a sign that she wanted what he did, he'd respect her and treat the way he always had. Natsu nodded to himself, happy with his decision.

He dried himself off and pulled his boxers back on. Just before he joined her back in the bedroom, he had another, resounding thought.

Well, maybe I can treat her a little differently.

Lucy felt the bed dip on one side, and looked over to see Natsu. He smiled at her. "Morning Luce! Sleep ok?"

"Yeah. Better than ok," she told him honestly. There was a moment of silence between them, where neither was quite sure what to say. Lucy watched him quietly for a moment, transfixed. He'd grown so much over that last two years (technically, it was nine). He wasn't the same boy she'd met on the train all that time ago. Yeah, he still had his name and face, but Natsu had grown, both in power and as a person. He wasn't just a friend anymore, nor was he just a team member. He was something more, though she wasn't quite sure what that something was. And right now, I'm not sure I care.

The reality of being on a mission quickly came crashing down on her. "Hey, Natsu? Do you think we should take a look at that book?" she asked, sitting up. Natsu paused as if he wanted to say something, then just shrugged.

"I don't know. You're the book person," he said, scratching his head. "What did that old freak say again? Didn't it say something about a Professor?"

Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "Prophecy, not professor. And I think he read it wrong." Lucy heaved the book onto her lap, running her fingers along the golden lettering on the spine. It was written in an old language Natsu didn't recognise, but seemed to strike a chord with the stellar spirit mage. "These runes declare it as a spell book, not a book of prophecy. But he was right about one thing; it's full of dark magic. You can feel it right?"

Natsu nodded, looking away. "It burned my nose all night," he grumbled. He skipped over mentioning that he'd buried his face in her hair to hide the smell.

Lucy gave him a look. "You're a fire mage, how can anything burn any part of you?!" She shook her head, looking back to the book. "Anyway, I'm just trying to figure this out. That old man thought it prophesised the resurrection of a dark wizard, but I don't think he's quite right." She carefully opened the battered, leather cover, and traced the faded words with her index finger. Natsu watched on, curious.

Her finger paused at what appeared to be a list. Lucy chewed her lip. "Mr Breichs was close. This isn't a prophecy for a dark wizard's resurrection. It's a spell to bring him back to life." She turned to the dragon slayer next to her, looking worried. "This is really bad, Natsu. Look here."

Natsu looked to where she was pointing. The letters were in the same strange language as the title, and he had absolutely no clue what any of it meant. "Uh, Luce? I can't-"

"This is a list of reagents for the spell. The first ingredient is the souls of a hundred mages. It says here that the souls must be drawn to the one place, then burned with the rest of the ingredients." Lucy shivered. "It's horrible. Can you imagine someone burning you from the inside out? That kind of torture, even for the dead…. It-it's unspeakable!"

Lucy looked distraught, it was instinctual for him to want to wrap his arms around her. So he did. Natsu held her, still unsure quite what was going on. "It's ok, Luce. We won't let those people be hurt like that. I swear, we won't."

Lucy leaned deeper into his embrace. She gave him a worried look. "Don't you see? Those souls are already being drawn here. We don't know how many have come, and we don't know who's doing it. All we know is that they're congregating here." She frowned, shutting the book. "I-I don't know how much we can do. It's just… it must be torment for those poor spirits, being caged like animals."

"Well, we'll do everything we can, right? We still have time, we can stop whoever's doing this. Now come one, let's go get Happy." Lucy looked up at Natsu, surprised. She felt a very strong urge to dive back into the comfort of his embrace.

Instead, she just smiled. "Yeah. I do owe him a fish!"

Hey everyone! Thanks for the feedback on the last couple of chapters. It's awesome to know I have such great support already. I'm really excited about this! I have Followers and Favourites already; it's incredible!

Anyway, the next chapter will be up in a day or so. Expect a bit more Nalu action; a cabin on their own can lead to some unexpected (and fun) adventures *wink*!

Thanks for reading! Rates and Reviews are much appreciated!