Feeling the warmth of his strong arms around her, Lucy felt torn about waking up. But feeling the rays of sunlight tickling in, the blonde knew it had to be pretty late in the morning already as it was. Stretching as much as possible without waking up Natsu behind her, Lucy delicately removed the pink-haired man's arms from around her before standing up and stretching.
Lucy sighed, glancing down at her nude self. She was pretty sure she officially had no clothing left to spare. What was she to do? She needed to get her things at the very least but without clothing to wear Lucy was going to have a hard time getting to her house without being detected.
"Come back to bed, Luce."
The blonde jumped at the sound of Natsu's sleepy voice, whining to her as he rolled onto his back. She glanced back and saw that he was watching her, his eyes unashamedly looking her up and down, "I need my clothes, Natsu."
He smirked at that, "Nah, I like the view as it is."
She blushed and made a show of jumping onto him, causing the boy to harrumph as she pounced onto his side, "You pervert."
Natsu chuckled before grabbing Lucy and pulling her the rest of the way on top of him, muting her squeak as he kissed her good morning, "Yea yea, we'll get your stuff, don't worry."
Lucy blushed but nodded, "Good."
She snuggled deeper into Natsu's chest, feeling his arms tighten instinctively. It was during moments like these that Lucy liked to close her eyes and make believe that the two of them were a normal couple, going through the motions of dating each other and living as a normal boy and girl would at their age. But that reality couldn't possibly be further from the truth. It got Lucy thinking though, "Hey Natsu?"
He grunted in response.
Lucy paused a moment before lifting herself up a bit to look at him. Natsu took this as a signal to open his eyes once more, realizing they weren't going back to sleep like he wanted, "What are we?"
Natsu furrowed his eyebrows and frowned up at her, "What?"
Lucy frowned along with him, "Just what I said. What are we? Are we dating? Are we friends with…bene…." She couldn't finish that thought, suddenly feeling insecure of Natsu's feelings for her, even after all that had happened.
"Dating?" Natsu asked humorously, "That silly human thing?"
Lucy felt almost physically dragged back to the confrontation they had last night. His offhanded comments reminded her that there was so much more to Natsu that she didn't know or understand and it was becoming more annoying than terrifying anymore, "Natsu, remember that promise you made me last night?"
Natsu sighed, following her train of thought, "Yea."
She pleadingly looked into his eyes before asking, "You're not human are you."
It was meant to be a question but it was obvious between the two of them that they both already knew the answer. One time, Lucy just needed to hear it from his lips this one time. Natsu sighed, looking away as he let out a sad no leave his lips. Before he could say anything else, he felt Lucy slide off of him, lying next to him still, but no longer touching him. Turning over and following her, the two lay on their sides facing one another. Natsu stared into her brown eyes, daring her to fear him, waiting for her to run away from him.
But she never backed down, her own stupid courage and stubbornness shining through as she held his gaze, "Then what are you?"
Natsu decided bluntness might move this conversation along and get it over with faster, "You humans call us vampires so I guess there's that."
Lucy's eyes widened, "Vampire?"
"Yea," he nonchalantly shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing, "those blood suckers on them cheesy movies you guys call scary."
The blonde felt almost flustered at the smirk he was sending her way, turning onto his back and stretching his toned arms above his head, "Mind you, what I am is much stronger than those pussies."
"Stronger?"
"Well yea," he turned back to Lucy, pulling her up against him and using his teeth to nibble her neck, "I do more than simply a quick bite in the neck."
Lucy was almost embarrassed at the feel of his breath and teeth along her neck. His hot breath sent a chill down her spine as she pushed him back to look into his eyes, "But what do you mean you guess? So you're not a vampire either?"
"Just that," he shrugged again, "It's what you guys call us, after all."
The blonde took this moment to soak it all in. By this point, it definitely didn't surprise her that Natsu was not human after all. With the events that had taken place over the past few days and this new Natsu she had come to witness, it was almost to be expected. But what did catch her off guard was how surprisingly easy she was taking all of this. Natsu seemed to agree when he offhandedly commented, "You're taking this surprisingly well."
Lucy sighed, "I don't know why either but," she looked back up at his questioning gaze, "whatever you are, you're still Natsu to me."
Natsu felt himself frown, not really knowing how to react. This girl had a way of getting under his skin and making him feel like some little boy again. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss before demanding he they take a shower,
"We can get another quickie in too before lunch."
At that, Lucy smacked him in the chest but she let him lead her into the shower before closing the curtains behind them.
"But wait," Lucy thought suddenly, "Don't vampires live for a long time?"
Natsu glanced down at the now fully clothed girl sitting on his mattress below him. He took a second more to toss a shirt over his head before answering, "We age slower, yea, but we still age. You guys make vampires out to be immortal but it's not really like that, I don't know."
Lucy nodded deep in thought at that, "So how old are you then?"
Natsu smirked at that, before joining her on the bed, pushing her down and wrapping his arms around her waist. Lucy squealed and the pink-haired boy used her surprise to nuzzle his face into her clean, golden locks, "Guess."
"14."
He had the gall to look surprised at that, "Pff what? I ain't some prepubescent boy."
Lucy giggled, "Well, I have no idea how old you are. To me, you look around 18 or 19 but for all I know you could be 2 thousand years old!"
Natsu was silent at that, "What if I was that old? What would you do?"
The girl tried to turn in Natsu's arms but he prevented her by tightening him grip on her. She sighed, "Natsu, if I'm not bothered by you being some vampire thing then I sure won't be freaked out if you happen to be a couple centuries old. So, tell me, how old are you?"
Natsu kissed her shoulder, his voice barely a whisper in her ear, "I can't remember, but it's been a long time."
Lucy tried turning around and he finally let her. His eyes seemed almost sad and hollow, almost as if he were sifting through the years and years' worth of memories he had. Lucy placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled their faces together, noses touching. Her heart fluttered as he turned his head to gently kiss her wrist then looked back at her, the pair holding each other's gaze, "Were you…"
"Was I what?"
She took a deep breath, "Never mind."
"Nah Luce," Natsu frowned, "Doesn't work like that. Ask the question."
Lucy stayed silent, not really knowing how to even ask what she wanted to know. On the one hand, she really wanted to know but on the other, she really didn't think about it. But Natsu was losing his patience with her and soon flipped them both over. He now hovered over her, sending her an intense stare as he placed both of his hands on either side of her face. Lucy stared up at him in surprise but remained quiet. It stayed like that for a while, a battle of wills. Until finally, Lucy sighed and looked away, "I just wonder," she kept her eyes on his hand to her left, "Were you alone? Did you have a family? Parents? Friends even? A…girl friend? I mean, that's a long time to…be alone…" Lucy bit her lip to keep going.
Natsu sighed but smiled down at her, "Of course I had parents, or else I wouldn't be here, silly," Lucy blushed, especially when he leaned down to give her a quick peck on the cheek, "My father was with me for most of my life, but my mother…"
Lucy noted that he seemed sad all of a sudden, "Your mother?"
"She was actually a human," Natsu mumbled out, not looking at her, "That's what my father told me anyways. She was a human and she died giving birth to me because it was too much for her, I guess. It's not common but it does happen from time to time in human and vampire pairs, I've heard."
"Natsu, I'm sorry," Lucy replied lamely.
The pink haired boy looked back at her before sighing, "It's okay. I've been over it for a while now. It's been a long time since then, after all."
Lifting up and off of her, Natsu helped Lucy sit up as well, "What about your father then?"
"He was very much vampire or monster or whatever," Natsu remarked, "He taught me all I knew and took care of me for a while."
"A while?" Lucy questioned, feeling almost worried at his choice in wording.
Natsu smiled sadly and shrugged, "Don't know what happened exactly. I just know that one day I woke up and he wasn't there anymore. It happened a long time ago and I tried looking for my old man but after so many years, I kinda just gave up. He's probably dead or something anyways."
Lucy had a feeling the nonchalant shrug he made wasn't how he truly felt about his father's disappearance. The blonde reached up and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it. She didn't really know what to say to any of this. She vaguely remembers coming clean awhile ago to him about her own parents, her mother keeling over from some heredity illness and her father…
That left them both as orphans.
Natsu perked up, "We should get you your clothes and stuff, huh?"
"What do you mean I can't come with you?!"
Natsu almost cringed as Lucy yelled at him, "I said, just wait here," he rubbed his ears, "I won't take that long."
"But it's my stuff!" Lucy whined, "I should come."
The boy almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous she was being right now, with her hands on her hips and a pout in her lip, "Lucy, no. Stay here. Don't leave. If you do, I'll know right away, got it?"
Natsu slammed the door behind him, hoping that Lucy would listen to him and not leave his place. He quickly made his way to where he knew Lucy's house to be. His main worry being the evidence of Lucy's father and the scene that might be there once he arrived. Not wanting Lucy to get wrapped up in it all, the boy thought it wise that he be the only one to gather some of her things to bring back to his place. It went almost unmentioned that she would call his place her own in his mind. So naturally, the girl would need her own things, no matter how much he enjoyed seeing her in his own clothes.
Or no clothes for that matter, Natsu thought with a smirk as he made his way down the street.
The sun was already setting, drenching the street around him in soft yellows, pinks, and purples. Luckily, it wasn't too much longer before Natsu arrived on Lucy's house. Just as he predicted, however, obnoxious yellow police tape was wrapped around the house, preventing any randoms from entering. A cop car was the only other sign of anything else different.
Natsu's eyes narrowed in thought, wondering how he should go about getting in and out of the house. But combing his fingers through his hair, Natsu sighed and cracked his neck from side to side. He had never been a huge fan of thinking more than what was absolutely necessary and in this situation, there was only one clear cut path for him to take.
Making his way to Lucy's now abandoned house, Natsu lifted the yellow tape and dipped underneath it without a second thought. It was obvious no one was in the police car; Natsu could smell two individuals though and they were both still inside the house. The door made no sound as he pushed through, entering the threshold. A mix of scents met him as he quickly realized the cops or whoever must be in the kitchen. Whether or not with the body or not, that was something Natsu didn't care about.
Being inside here again, Natsu felt his canines ache at the memories that swirled through his head; the fear that had been in the man's eyes as he ripped him apart, feeling his heart slow. It had been well worth it to get Lucy out of that disgusting man's grasp. It had been a long time coming.
Hearing the murmurs of a conversation coming from the kitchen, Natsu tried his best to not make a sound as he passed by to make his way to Lucy's room. He figured getting in and out would probably be the wisest move on his part.
However, just as he was making his way past the kitchen entrance, his foot caught on some kind of shelf and it toppled over, effectively making his presence known at the sound of several books hitting the floor.
Natsu smirked, showing off his already elongated fangs, luckily for him he wasn't very wise or he would have missed out on having some fun with these two unfortunate souls.
Lucy felt goosebumps creep up her arms, "Natsu…"
The boy entered the apartment with a large smile plastered to his face, a large bag in his hand of what she could only guess were her clothes. But it was everything else that was wrong with this picture that had Lucy holding back a gag.
Once again, he was drenched in blood and he did not seem to even care or notice, "Yea, Luce?"
"The blood," she pointed to him in general, "Is it yours?"
"Nope," his smile grew, tossing the bag down by the table, "Here's your stuff by the way, should be all of it. I checked the drawers and closet and shit. Oh and Lucy?"
She found herself moving in slow motion, as if she were swimming, as she lifted her eyes back to his, "Yea?"
"Ima need to see you in those bras of yours," his smirk turned scandalous as he wiggled his eyebrows at her, "Lace and silk, yummy."
Lucy shook her head, not getting at all how he could so calmly brush aside the fact that he was, once again, waltzing around town soaked in blood, "Natsu."
"Whaaaat?" He had the gall to be annoyed at her right now as he began stripping his clothes, tossing them aside as he passed her, heading to the shower she guessed.
"The blood…?"
Natsu paused at this, turning his head back with a blank face, "Luce, you gotta learn to ask better questions."
Lucy squeezed her hands into fists, her knuckles turning white, "If the blood's not yours….then….who's?"
"Who's?" His eyebrow rose, his body now fully turned back around to her. Natsu directed all of his attention towards her, his thumbs flicking into the band of his sweatpants as if to take them off. He waited.
"The blood," she reached for any remaining courage she had left, "who's is it?"
Natsu blinked then sent a slow smirk her way, "Luce, I thought we went over this?"
And then suddenly he was up against her, pushing her with his body. She gasped as the table hit the back of her legs. Natsu's arms were around her, pressed onto the table behind her as he stared deeply into her eyes. He leaned down, licking her cheek and forcing her back onto the table top, "I'm not human. I have needs. You know what vampires do, don't you? You've seen movies, right?"
Lucy gulped, his hot breath fanning over her skin and adding to the already present goosebumps covering her skin at his words, "Yea…" came her breathy response.
He chuckled, "And what is it that vampires do?"
He was patronizing her, Lucy thought frustratingly as she answered, "They suck blood."
"From?"
"H-Humans."
"Bingo," he smirked, kissing her flush on the lips. Lucy finally gagged at the taste of blood on his lips, making Natsu pull back and laugh at her horror, "Vampires, they feed on humans. Put two and two together, Luce."
With that, he kissed her once more on the lips before he left her alone in the kitchen, whistling a jolly tune down the hallway as he headed down to take his shower.
When Lucy heard the shower turn on, then, and only then, did Lucy finally let the tears fall.
A/N: I promised more of a content chapter than graphic so here you are. I hope this chapter isn't as lame as I think it is? Let me know your thoughts.
Also, I had a few reviews wondering about why in the world Lucy could still be with Natsu even after he killed her father, is a monster, etc...and well, the only thing I can really say to that is...Natsu kinda did force her some and Lucy isn't exactly the strong, confident girl we know and love from Fairy Tail. I am taking quite the amount of liberties with these two characters and I hope that, in the end, it's believable? But honestly, this story is a huge stretch for either of their characters really, so who am I kidding...lol
I'll try to have another chapter up sometime next week! I'm still fiddling around with a general plot line that I like but I'm beginning to see an ending in sight! Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
