To Conquer Pleasure

Waking up in a tangle of arms and legs wasn't a new experience. As stated before, Natsu had wormed his way into her bed a time or two, and he was a restless sleeper. Gray tended to be a little better, but apparently Natsu's bad sleeping etiquette rubbed off on all of them.

And three bodies just seemed to have so many more limbs than two.

The nest was also surprisingly comfortable. She didn't want to crawl out of it, even to pee, which she really, really needed to do. Like really. But, regardless of the fact that there was an elbow in her eye (Natsu), hair in her mouth, and a leg hooked up around her hip (Gray), she thought she could stay there forever.

But seriously. Her bladder disagreed. Vehemently.

Natsu slept like the living dead. She pushed his elbow out of her face and slithered out of the tangle as well as she could without disturbing the others. Gray was a lighter sleeper, though. His eye lids lifted like they were made of lead, and his voice was slurred when he questioned her, "Where you goin'?"

"Bathroom," she whispered back, flicking her eyes to their friend to make sure they hadn't woken him with their quiet words.

Of course, they hadn't. He was snoring while holding Gray's hand to his cheek. She smiled. He could be such a kid sometimes.

She felt much better after the short time in the bathroom and returned to find that Gray and Natsu had both edged into the empty indentation she left in the center of her bed. They were coiled around each other much in the same way they had been wrapped around her before she got up.

Oh to capture such moments for all time. She grinned and held a hand over her mouth like they would see it and be upset at her humor.

Natsu's breath was stirring the dark hair on Gray's head, and Gray's lips were pressed against Natsu's shoulder. She felt her cheeks flush, and then her whole face darken with the rush of her blood. They were both so beautiful, and the picture they made was so serene. It was almost impossible to believe, in this moment, that they were capable of such wanton destruction when they were awake.

Almost.

Lucy could tell how tightly Natsu was holding Gray's wrist, and she could clearly see the flex of the muscles in Gray's leg as it slid over his partner's hip. They were both tough, that was obvious.

As obvious as Gray's nudity. They'd managed to throw off the blankets in her absence as well.

With no hope of getting back between them – she'd be surprised if air could get between them at this point – she pulled the blanket from the bottom of the bed and pressed herself against Gray's nude back. Not that he would mind the cool air, she knew, but she liked the way his skin felt in contrast to the soft warmth of her blanket.

She brushed a hand over his shoulder. Down his arm. And joined the little jumble of hands against Natsu's cheek. With her forehead against the back of Gray's neck she gave herself back to sleep.

She woke to the feeling of a hot tongue on her collar bone and fingers tracing the crater of her bellybutton. Impossible to stop the gasp from escaping her lips. She wanted to appear tough, like this wasn't overwhelming, but with the two of them ganging up on her that was a hard goal to accomplish.

Her nerves were on edge, standing at attention, unable to keep up but desperate to catch everything. Hot and cold alternated at such a rapid and unpredictable pace that she was always surprised. Her hands curled into claws and then fists, nails biting deep into the soft skin of her palm. Her toes stretched and arched so that at the height of it she heard them pop.

Perhaps trying to fly free. She didn't know much about how her toes felt at that point. She was far more focused on the way other parts of her felt.

By jumping her with their confidence and intensity they quashed any awkwardness that she would have expected from such a situation. They allowed for no awkwardness. There was laughter. Gasping and moaning. Huge gusts of air with all manner of emotion behind them.

Alarmingly cocky smiles when one of them managed to do something especially good. Impossible for them to be anything other than what they were, the self-assured jerks. But she always smiled back and rolled her eyes. Or laughed.

At least sometimes. Sometimes she was still caught up in the sensation and moaning. Unable to respond to their feelings of pride with anything other than what her body demanded.

They were so dammed observant. It was the battle in them, she guessed. They missed nothing; not the curl of her toes or the flutter of her eyelashes. And they used it to their advantage.

To her advantage.

She wasn't so good. She was never as good, and as much as that bothered her sometimes, they didn't seem to mind that she wasn't quite as observant. That she couldn't attack their pleasure with pinpoint accuracy as they did hers.

It didn't take too long for them to fall off of her bed. It was large, but they were attempting some fairly intense aerobics, and in the end it wasn't big enough for their needs. With more laughter they gathered up pillows and blankets, moved the coffee table and couch in the living room, and spread out as they wanted in that much larger space.

They fell on each other at odd angles, fighting off a different sort of fatigue than she had ever experienced before. By the light in her windows she thought it might be an hour or so after noon.

"If we don't go to the guild, Erza might come looking for us," she said. She didn't want to leave that place they'd created. It felt special, and she wasn't so certain it could be recreated a second time.

Both guys sat bolt upright. "Erza," Gray mumbled, while Natsu just looked stunned. It was up to her then.

"Your clothes are still in my room, but I think … I think a shower is probably necessary." She might not be quite as observant as them, but she had noticed how often Natsu used his nose; if all dragon slayers had that skill... "Gajeel ..."

"Will know even with a shower," Natsu told her, "but who would he tell? Still, yeah, shower. Your hair looks a little wild."

"Well then," she was still a little caught on the fact that the formidable iron dragon slayer was going to smell their morning activities on them, "I guess I'll go first. My hair dries a little slower."

Then she noticed their twin grins. Goosebumps rippled over her skin. "I think it would go faster if we all go together; don't you flame head?"

"Yup. Sounds right to me."

Lucy didn't think it would go faster at all. But she didn't stop them from following her to the bathroom either.

Author's Note: Little addition for those people who wanted something extra. Nothing super special, but there it is. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.