Authors Note: Please note that the rating has gone up for this story from T to M. This is mostly due to a chapter later on, but this one has a couple almost graphic moments too. If that's not your thing, I apologize and am willing to suggest other stories you might like.
She had climbed out of her window and up onto the roof. Lying staring up at the vast, never-ending sky, her long blue dress fanned out elegantly, she took a deep breath. The quiet peaceful atmosphere was just what she'd been craving. No Leo hovering protectively, no Aquarius or Virgo to give her sex advise, and no Azazel to make her feel uncomfortable. Lucy wrapped her arms around herself and tried to fall asleep, hoping to return to her dream world and the pink haired man. She didn't know how long she was asleep before a panicked cry woke her.
"Lucy! Lucy where are you!" Leo's voice carried through the open window below waking her up. She hugged her body closer to the roof, hiding from him. So he had figured out her switch with Gemini? Lucy felt a small stab of guilt for deceiving him, but not enough to reveal her hiding spot.
She waited until she heard him leave before climbing back down. Inside her room the voices and music from the party drifted upward, and she smiled, considering joining them. She had just secured her mask to her face when a loud thump against her door made her stop. A second, harder thump pounded the door and the wood gave way. A black haired boy dressed in black and red tumbled into the room. His head popped up and terrifying green reptilian eyes darted around the room angrily. She backed away from him in fear.
Natsu glanced around the room, looking for Loki. Figuring out he wasn't there, he then noticed the hesitant figure in front of him and recognized the scent. He looked away from her, letting his bangs fall over his eyes and his jaw clenched in anguish.
Lucy heard him say something too softly for her to hear.
"What?" she asked, unconsciously moving closer.
"Stop it." He said again in heartbroken voice. Seeing her confusion he explained. "Please, stop looking like her."
She blinked, "Huh?"
He sighed and allowed himself a glance in her direction, knowing it would hurt to see her looking at him. The white scarf wrapped snuggly around her waist caught his attention and his demeanor changed completely.
"Hey, that's mine!" He accused. She backed up until her the back of her legs hit the bed, stopping her from going further. He stormed after her, grabbing the scarf and pulling her and it close to him.
She yelped in surprise, her hands flying to his chest to stop her from losing her balance. He was surprisingly warm to the touch, and their close proximity was somehow familiar. Looking up, she realized that his eyes had changed from the frightening green to a pained onyx.
He was so damn familiar, it was driving her crazy. A name, stuck on the tip of her tongue. One of her hands left his chest and brushed the black hair from his face so she could see him better. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw pink roots spurting from his head.
Meanwhile Natsu had been caught off guard when she fell into him. He looked down at her chocolate eyes and was assaulted by her scent. Vanilla and something new that reminded him of stardust. He gripped her arm, thinking to push her away from him, but his body seemed unwilling to do it. Her hand wandered up to his face, brushing the hair out of his eyes and he saw her eye's widen. Without even thinking, he used one hand to untie the mask and gently removed it, so that he could see her whole face.
That's impossible, she thought staring at the small bit of pink, he can't be real.
"Who are you?" She whispered.
Natsu was about to make a chagrined reply, after all Gemini had had no trouble recognizing him not five minutes earlier when they were kissing, when he stopped dead in his tracks. There was no way Gemini could be here when he just left the twins. Yes, they could hover, but they couldn't travel fast enough to get ahead of him. Maybe they had teleported somehow, but why would they do that?
While he was trying to work it out Lucy realized he wasn't going to answer her, and decided she was going to figure it out on her own. Thinking about what Aquarius had said ('you're such a prude and haven't even kisseda guy before') she let one hand furrow in his hair so he couldn't escape. He was a complete stranger, and yet she couldn't remember feeling safer or more comfortable. So she decided to perform a little experiment and gave in to the strange magnetic attraction between them. His face went blank and he stopped working on whatever mental problem had been bothering him as she brought their faces together.
The moment their lips touched, the both felt like they'd been hit by lightning. Lucy pulled back, literally shocked, and looked at him with sudden recognition.
"Natsu?" She asked, gently touching her lips to make sure they hadn't burned off. Natsu searched her face, reluctant to let himself believe what his heart was telling him. Then she smiled at him and he knew without a doubt it was her.
"LUCY!" He screamed, tackling her on to the bed and crushing her in an embrace. Lucy opened her mouth to tell him to get off her, but couldn't because it was suddenly covered with his. He kissed passionately and gently at the same time until her head was spinning. When they both couldn't ignore the need for air any more, he moved to exuberantly kiss the side of her mouth, then her cheeks, and her nose, finishing with a light kiss on her forehead. She giggled, deliriously happy to see him and know he was happy to see her too.
He laughed with her, a nameless vice in his chest being release by the sweet sound of her laughter. Propping himself up on his elbows, he looked down at her and gently caressed her cheek. She was startled to see that despite his grin, tears were trickling from the corners of his eyes.
"Natsu" She breathed, reaching up and wiping the tears from his face. "Please, don't cry. It's okay." He gave a happy laugh at her reassurances.
"I know Luce. Of course everything's okay, I found you." He bent down and kissed her again, but this time the kiss was filled with so much want and emotion that Lucy felt every second of the agony he went through without her. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged his warm body to her, gently petting his back in comfort.
When they finally broke apart, they stared at each other in happy amazement.
"I didn't know you felt like this….about me." She whispered to him. He was silent for a moment, and she regretted speaking, thinking maybe he didn't actually feel anything for her and that the kisses had been only in the moment. But then he shrugged and gave a one sided grin.
"I didn't know I felt this way." He admitted. "I just…I never want to lose you again." His face suddenly grew serious, and she saw a dark shadow haunt the back of his eyes. "You died Lucy."
"I'm sorry."
She pushed herself up so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders and pull him down into another kiss. Forcing his lips apart with her own, her tongue darted into his mouth and bumped into his. He soon forgot about the image of her lying still in the church, throwing himself into a new mission to kiss every part of her.
He kissed her neck and she gave a small gasp of breath. Natsu pulled back to see if he'd hurt her, but instead saw her looking at him with a peculiar look he hadn't seen before. Getting the point, he grinned mischievously and attacked her neck, warm lips and tongue dancing over the sensitive skin.
Lucy moaned and pulled him closer. Her dress had moved up and she wrapped her bare legs around his torso. He gasped in response, letting some of his weight fall on her and moved his attention to the area just below her jaw. She turned her head to give him better access, when her attention was caught by shadows suddenly blocking the light that was coming from the open door.
She froze, terrified by what she saw. Natsu sensed the change and sat up, alarmed by the look on her face. Following her gaze, he turned and was greeted by an unwelcomed sight.
Prince Azazel stood in the door way with five or six armed guards. He was staring at Natsu and Lucy with pure rage and hatred. Loki stood behind him, horrified at what the prince might do and ready to jump in to rescue his master if needed.
Natsu's eyes narrowed and he looked at Azazel with the same look of loathing he was receiving. Lucy, on the other hand, was slowly getting all of her memories back. She remembered the night in front of her apartment and she shook with rage remembering how he had made her own spirits hurt her.
"Arrest him." Azazel growled pointing to Natsu. The guards charged but Natsu was ready with a flaming fist. He jumped off the bed and in front of Lucy, protecting her. The first few guards went down after a few minutes struggle, but then his flame vanished and Natsu fell to his knees panting. The fight with Loki had taken a lot of what little magic he had left and he was getting close having nothing.
"Natsu!" Lucy yelled, trying to run to him. Azazel touched a finger to the pendant around his neck and she stopped, unable to move.
Three more guards attacked, and Natsu was helpless to do anything but take the beating they dished out. One kicked him hard in the ribs and Lucy shrieked in frustration when she heard it crack.
"Please, please stop!" She begged the prince. He waved his hands and two of the guards grabbed Natsus arms. They dragged him out of the way and secured his hands in handcuffs.
"Please, don't hurt him." She begged as Azazel stalked over to her.
"Oh, so you remember him?" He asked. She didn't respond but the defiant look in her eyes was answer enough. Azazel sighed and glared at Natsu. "That's twice now you've ruined my spells Dragneel. In different circumstances, I might even be impressed."
He walked over to the dragon slayer, casually throwing an arm around his shoulder "However, when you insist on trying to steal what's mine, there are …..consequences." He pulled out a knife and thrust it into Natsus stomach. Lucy screamed and tried to run to him, but she couldn't move, helpless to do anything but watch as he fell to the floor. Loki however was free from the spell and ran to Natsu, pressing his hand over the injury to stop the bleeding.
"Why?" Lucy asked, her voice husky as tears rolled from her eyes. "Why are you doing this to us?"
"Why to be King, of course!" Azazel said, casually wiping Natsu's blood from the knife with a handkerchief. "The spirit world loves its rules. One such rule just happens to be that I can't inherit my father's power until I'm married."
"But why me?" She asked. "You could get any girl you wanted. Why me?"
"Oh Lucy." He cooed, coming over and stroking her face. His fingers were still red with Natsu's blood and Lucy flinched away disgusted. "I wanted to meet you for so long, and then I did and you were everything I ever hoped you'd be. Beautiful, sexy and funny; my perfect partner. You're 'The girl everyone loves'. Is it really such a far-fetched notion that I would love you too? And I knew, in time, you would come to feel the same way about me."
Lucy spit in his face.
"I could never love you." Azazel slapped her hard across the face. From the ground where he lay, Natsu growled and blood spluttered from his mouth. Azazel spun around grabbed Natsu by the throat, kicking Loki out of the way.
"Is it because of him?" He hissed, looking at Lucy. "He's the reason you defy me! He will die for touching you!"
"No stop!" She cried. Natsu, who was already pale from blood loss, was turning blue as Azazel cut off his airway. "Please, I'll do anything you want! I'll marry you, anything!"
"Anything?" Azazel questioned, interested in the proposed deal.
"Yes, anything! Just please don't kill him!"
He let Natsu fall to the floor in a crumbled heap and strode over to Lucy. Loki rushed back to Natsu's side, giving a small sign to Lucy that he was alive, but unconscious. Her attention was snapped back to the prince as he gave a sadistic chuckle that gave her goose bumps. She was paralyzed, held rooted to the spot by both fear and his magic. He came around behind her and gently moved her golden locks, exposing her bare neck. He whispered in her ear, his breath painfully tickling her skin.
"I will be the first man to kiss you, to bed you. Whether you come willingly or not, you will be mine and mine alone" His lips lightly brushed her bare flesh and she couldn't help the whimper of fear that escaped her throat. "Do you understand?"*
She didn't trust herself to speak, but gave a small nod.
"Good, then the wedding will proceed tomorrow as planned." He said, then turned to the Lion spirit. "Loki, bandage him and put him in the dungeon." He ordered gesturing to Natsu. It's not like he'll live to see tomorrow anyway. Azazel thought having correctly identified that the spirit world was sucking the life out of him.
Loki did as he was told and rushed Natsu out of the room, desperate to go find some help for his injuries. The guards picked up their fallen comrades and followed him out, leaving only the prince and princess in the room.
"Well then," He said with a smile, as if nothing had happened. "Good night my love,"
He griped her head and forced his lips onto her. She was helpless to do anything because his magic still held her immobile. This kiss was nothing like the kisses she and Natsu had shared, it was possessive and wet and there was no spark of love between them. However, Azazel seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed it, and when he finally pulled away victory danced in his eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He whispered, almost like a threat, before sweeping out of the room. When the spell finally released Lucy, she collapsed on the floor, her throat and nose choking her with her own tears.
*(Inspired by the recording of Tom Hiddeston reading this line- If you haven't heard it, Please google it because hearing it is 100x's more powerful)
A/N: Again, reminder I am a big fan of happy endings.