A/N: And we're back for the second chapter. I got a couple reviews saying that it worked as a one-shot, and I agree. But, there's a part of me that wants to continue this. The perverted part of me. And it's because of that part that this... is going to have a third chapter. Damn it all to hell...

Also, I did consider making Lucy unknowingly ace, that she just hadn't realized it yet, but decided I wanted the story to be about her insecurity. There are women who are limited sexually because of insecurity in their bodies, etc. Considering Lucy's insecure about her body, plus Gray cheating on her, well it makes for one hell of a complex in my opinion. That was the main focus going in and I wanted to keep true to that. I'll eventually write a story with ace characters though.

I started writing this right after posting the story, since the inspiration was flowing. I figured I'd post it before calling it a night.

(I'll proofread this later, so if there are any errors right now, I apologize).

So, just to reiterate… There will be a third (hopefully final) chapter coming.

Crave Your Touch

Cobra had lied to Lucy, and she knew it as soon as she woke up in his bed the morning after they'd kissed. It wasn't a big lie, and it wasn't anything she had an issue with. In fact, Lucy rather liked that he'd lied.

Because Cobra had said that things wouldn't change. He'd promised it would all be the same after they'd kissed. But it wasn't. Maybe it was just her, and maybe she was just overthinking things, but she felt different when looking at him. Maybe it was because she knew how he could kiss now, and even though she'd considered what it might be like before, Lucy had pretty much ruled Cobra out as a potential anything other than… just who he was to her.

And she still couldn't define it. Whatever was between them was just… them.

But as she looked across the pillows at his sleeping face, feeling his fingers laced with hers beneath the blanket and seeing how much closer he was, only a few inches away from her, Lucy knew things had changed. She just hoped it was for the better. Because the last time she'd felt like this at all, it had been Gray, and he'd been her whole world. She'd loved him with everything she had and it still hadn't been enough for him to stay with her. She hadn't been enough of a woman to keep her husband happy.

Cobra's eye slid open slowly, his fingers gently squeezing hers. Lucy didn't try to plaster on a smile though. He would just hear what she was thinking about anyway. "Is it okay to kiss you good morning?" he whispered, his voice thick with sleep. She still didn't say a word, but smiled all the same when he pulled their hands from beneath the blanket and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles.

"Not what I thought you meant," Lucy whispered back.

"I told you, nothing has to change," he said. "And I meant it."

Which meant, she knew, that even though Cobra had been adamant about kissing her the night before, it wasn't going to happen again. She'd tasted like sugar, and he was an addict. But she didn't always taste that way, and-

"Stop," he frowned. "I meant it doesn't have to change, unless you want it to." She took a slow breath when his lips grazed her knuckles once again. "We can still do everything we've always done, but…"

"We're… just a little closer now?" she asked. The way he smiled at her then had Lucy fighting to keep one from stretching across her lips. "I'd like that, Cobra."

Lucy squeaked as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. He really did have an addictive personality, it seemed. Once he found something he liked, he hoarded it, kept getting more of it. And that only made Lucy's cheeks flush with embarrassment when she had the fleeting thought that maybe he was growing addicted to kissing her.

"I am," he chuckled.

For the first time since they started sleeping in the same bed, which wasn't every time Lucy stayed over at his apartment, Lucy and Cobra didn't get out of bed right away. They laid together, mostly silent, toying with each other's hands, memorizing calloused fingers and palms and knuckles. Sometimes they would talk, just short bursts of conversation about silly little things. But they were content to just be together, just like they had been before. Just a little closer.

Lucy sat at the bar, sighing in relief when she took the last bite of her salad - ordered without the chicken that Mira usually put on it. It had been delicious, everything she could have wanted out of spinach leaves and tomatoes with just a little bit of ginger dressing. If only she hadn't had eyes watching her the entire time she'd been eating. That would have been even better.

"I didn't realize you became a vegetarian," Gray said with a frown from his seat a few spots away.

"I'm not," she answered.

"You used to eat chicken on that salad."

Lucy shrugged and took a sip of her water. "Yeah, well tastes change." Gray should know all about things like that. Ugh, just thinking it made her want to punch herself in the vagina. That was beyond petty, and it had been long enough that she shouldn't even be thinking about it any longer.

"Oh, Lucy!" Mira cheered while walking from the back. "Good, you're still here."

"Yep, still here."

"Great, I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in going to Lisanna's bachelorette party. It's tonight and we've been wanting to take you out and have a good time. Like we used to."

The blonde set down her drink, staring at the condensation trickling down the side. "I've already got plans, Mira," she said, smiling softly.

"A date?"

"No." That was an easy answer. It wasn't a date.

"Well, what are you going to be doing?" Mira asked, leaning on the bar. "You know Lisanna would want you there, and if there's some way we could rework things for you-"

"Mira," Lucy sighed. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I understand that you and the others just want to see me happy. And, according to you guys, I need a man in my life to make that happen." Lucy astutely ignored Gray's more intense stare. "But I don't. It turns out, I just needed a quiet place to think. And I'm happy, I promise. So you don't need to try scheming anymore to get me to go out with you guys just so you can get me laid."

"But Lu," Cana crooned as she sauntered over and draped an arm around Lucy's shoulders, "We know for a fact that you haven't gotten laid since…" Her eyes cut over to Gray for a moment, and she smirked when his jaw dropped. "It's been years. And that's just… God it makes me wanna cry for your snatch."

"Well, my snatch and I are perfectly content," Lucy sniffed.

"God, you're such a prude sometimes," Cana snickered. "Just go get some ass."

'I'm not a prude if I know there's just something wrong with me… I could go sleep with someone, but there's no point. Nothing will happen aside from me just being a hole for whoever it is to fuck. I don't want that either.'

"Wait, you're telling me you haven't…" Gray blinked, shaking his head in confusion. "Since we…" He drew back when an icy glare was sent his way from Lucy out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't sure when she'd learned how to do that.

"What happens in my life stopped being your concern when you fell dick-first into another woman, Gray," Lucy said. She placed some Jewels on the counter, then pried Cana's arm off of her while standing from her stool. "Mira, Cana. I'd appreciate it if you would stop pestering me about this. My opinion's not changing. I've tried yelling and screaming and hiding from you guys, and none of that has worked. So maybe you just need to hear me be levelheaded about it. Just. Stop."

She turned and found Cobra walking toward the bar, a smug smirk on his lips. "So, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"But where?" Mira asked.

"Lucy here," Cobra said as the blonde stopped beside him, "Is taking a job with me."

"A job?" Cana asked, wide-eyed. "Does Natsu know about this?"

"Yeah," Lucy grinned. "He's the one who showed Cobra the request. So, we're off to guard a confectionery warehouse for a couple nights."

"That's such a strange request," Mira frowned looking at the book. "The reward is-"

"Ten pounds of sweets of each mage's choosing," Lucy and Cobra sighed in unison, their eyes closing and twin serene smiles on their lips.

They ignored the horrified stares of the mages at the bar and made their way out of the guild and toward the train station, each taking in the comfortable mid-April weather. And once they were a block away from the guild, Lucy started giggling over how perfect the job was and ended up making Cobra laugh as well.

They spent the rest of the day walking to the warehouse - having avoided taking the train so Cobra wouldn't get sick - already planning what they were going to choose for their reward and how they were going to split it all up and share it anyway.

Lucy realized when her birthday rolled around again that she had no idea when Cobra's birthday was. They'd been friends for a little over two years, and she still didn't know something so basic. She'd thought to ask him, but already knew that he would brush it off. He would most likely say it wasn't important and if she knew then she'd be tempted to give him a present, which he didn't want.

So instead, Lucy carefully grabbed his hand as soon as she sat on the couch and pressed something small into his palm. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek with a soft blush and downcast eyes.

He opened his hand, smiling down at the key with cupcake designs on it. "I thought this was your birthday," he said.

"True, and I know you never come over to my place," she nodded. "But, I just wanted you to know, if you ever did want to come over, you're welcome."

"Well alright then," he chuckled.

"Also, happy birthday," she grinned. "Whenever it is."

"October 27th." He lifted a small box and handed it to her then went about attaching the overly bright key to his own key ring. "Happy birthday, Lucy."

The blonde stared down at the contents of the box, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "What the fuck is this?"

"Your very own sleeping mask," he grinned, watching as she lifted the purple mask from the box to read the embroidered Feed me chocolate across it. "And some stress balls."

Lucy looked down at the box and found herself giggling when she saw two very soft, plush testicles about the size of her hand. She picked it up and gave it a squeeze, then let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Ah, this is perfect. I always find myself so stressed and in need of squeezing testicles."

"I figured," he snorted.

"Thanks, Cobra," she said, smiling at the gifts in her lap. "You're really sweet. Kind of a dork, but mostly sweet."

"It's all the sugar I eat," he answered, reaching toward the table and grabbing a handful of jelly beans, then popping several into his mouth. "It's affecting me…"

"Sexually?"

"You know me so well," he laughed. He leaned toward the blonde and held his hand up, watching as she smiled and parted her lips. "Only the black ones?"

"Uh-huh." Lucy hummed as several jelly beans fell into her mouth. "You know me better," she whispered while chewing the licorice flavored candies.

Cobra sighed and sipped at his cocoa from his spot at the window, staring at the water beating down on the panes. Lucy had been gone for two weeks on a mission with her old team, the original Team Natsu, at Erza's request. And while it wasn't all that unusual for her to be away for extended periods - the longest had been a month the year before - he'd never been this damn worried about her.

Oh, he had no illusions about what he felt for the blonde. It was most definitely worry. And while he would have vehemently denied any sort of emotion related to her in general in X796, when he'd joined the guild, three years had passed and he could readily admit that he cared about her.

Sometimes, too much.

And he knew she cared about him too, just as much as he did. They were on the same page, both unsure of how to proceed, when to move forward, and wanting to try other physical shit with that underlying worry of whether it'll be too much. But he loved that Lucy was more like him, that she didn't push or try to wrap herself around him all the time. She leaned on him a lot, settling them in half-snuggles, but Cobra found when she started doing it several months prior that he liked her warmth being so close to him.

But now he was alone, waiting for her to come back and hoping that nothing horrible happened on her job. He trusted Natsu to keep an eye out for her. He trusted Erza to a point - Cobra accepted that the redhead could kick some ass when she wanted to. It was the fact that Gray had gone along that he hated. Gray shouldn't have fucking been there. He hadn't earned the right to be out with Lucy like this, and it wasn't fair to force her to work with the man who'd so completely broken her trust.

'Cobra! Cobra, open the door! Open up! Luce needs help!'

His head snapped toward his front door and he shot from his seat when he heard several sets of steps thundering closer. The familiar cadences of their souls set him at ease only slightly. He scrambled from the window seat, ignoring the fact that his favorite mug for cocoa crashed to the floor as he dashed across the living room.

He kept listening for her soul, that fucked up little music box, but he couldn't hear it. And that only made his hands tremble while he flipped the deadbolt and threw the door open. There was no one in the hall though. He listened closer, cursing when he heard that Natsu and the team was still a few blocks away. Cobra didn't care.

He couldn't hear Lucy's soul, but he could hear the worry for her in their souls. He knew she was with them. Leaving his door open and forgoing shoes, Cobra ran down the hall, the stairs, out into the pouring rain. He paused, letting mother nature beat down on him and taking a deep breath while he listened to the direction they were coming from. He turned right and ran as fast as he could, honing in on the appearance of bright pink hair through the rain as they turned the corner just ahead of him.

It took too long to get to them. To her. But as soon as Cobra stood before the old Team Natsu, seeing their battle-worn expressions in passing, all he could see was Lucy lying in Natsu's arms. All he could hear was the pained rattle in her lungs that proved she was still breathing.

"Fuck," Cobra whimpered. "Hand her over, Salamander."

"What?" Gray sneered, staring as Natsu easily gave Lucy to the Poison Slayer. "Natsu, this is ridiculous. She needs Wendy not Cobra."

Gleaming green eyes, narrowed and angry, turned toward him. "You don't know what Luce needs, Gray. I'm her partner, and I have been this whole time. And do you know who she told me to take her to if something went wrong on a mission? Cobra."

Cobra ignored them after that, turning on his heel and rushing her back to his apartment. He listened closer with each step, struggling to hear a thing from her soul. Even just a pathetic little warble. Anything to let him know she was still in there.

Once inside, and leaving the door open already knowing the others would follow, he took her to his bed and laid her down. Natsu was the first inside, kicking his sandals off and rushing after Cobra with the others right behind him. "What happened?"

"All I know is that she got poisoned," Natsu said. "We didn't realize it until she met up with us." He came forward and lifted Lucy's shirt to reveal three long gashes with purplish-green bruising branching away from them. But Cobra heard what happened in Natsu's soul, the memory of all of them regrouping and Lucy looking just a little worn down, how she was still smiling as they went back to the town and suddenly collapsed. "Can you help her?"

Cobra nodded, crawling onto the bed to straddle her legs. "Erza, bathroom under the sink, grab my medical kit. Gray, the blanket on the couch and the bowl on the coffee table. Natsu, get in touch with the guild, see if Wendy's available for a consult. She's not coming here in the rain unless we need her."

He ignored everyone as they got to work, barely aware that Happy had settled himself on the pillow by Lucy's head. His fingers prodded at the red, angry flesh of the injury and then the discoloration around it, then he looked up at her closed eyes. "Sorry, Lucy. I know you'll understand the need for it right now," he whispered.

Cobra lowered his lips to her skin, then latched on and began to suck. He had to know what the poison was before he could do anything else. And even though he would have otherwise lost his mind over the fact that Lucy's skin tasted so damn sweet, he couldn't. Not then. He sucked, hard, closing his eye and furrowing his brow while the poison under her skin came flowing between his lips.

It wriggled into his taste buds, pumped through his veins. And just like he knew it would, the lacrima in his body flared to life and created an antivenin so he could absorb it. He pulled back, licking his lips while gulping the last mouthful down, then took a deep steadying breath.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked from the doorway, his voice low and controlled.

"Put that blanket over her," Cobra said. He moved so he was hovering over her lips. Only Happy saw the saddened gaze he sent to the blonde. "She's cold." He waited until Gray was done, pointing to the nightstand before he could ask where the bowl of candy needed to be. Just another minute, and he could help her.

Erza returned with the medical kit, silent but surprised as she watched Cobra's hand lift to brush away the hair plastered to Lucy's face.

Natsu came into the room, his expression grim and Erza's darkened lacrima in his hand. "Wendy's not around. No one's heard from Porlyusica since she left with Gramps a couple months back. I can try Chelia, but…"

"Happy," Cobra whispered, "She might jump. Don't scratch her."

"I won't," the teary-eyed Exceed nodded.

"You should move down though. I don't want you breathing this in." He took another breath, then brought one hand to her cheek and lowered his lips to hers. "It'll be alright, Lucy."

Every mage in the room was silent as crimson gas spilled from Cobra's lips before they sealed over Lucy's. He breathed into her, one long breath filling her lungs to capacity, then pulled back for her to exhale. His hand left her cheek, his eye closing when she whimpered once his fingers met with the gashes on her side. Cobra channeled his magic through his fingers, then his jaw clenched when he forced them into the wounds, past the broken skin and shredded muscle.

Lucy's eyes shot open in an instant, and then she screamed. She writhed against the fire coursing through her as Cobra's magic spread. And still, even though he could see the tears on her lashes, could hear the screeching in her soul, he kept going.

"Hold her down!" Cobra ground out. Erza, Natsu, and Gray rushed to the bed as one, each taking a limb and pinning it to the bed while he settled his full weight on her and fastened his lips onto hers again. Another poisoned breath from him was followed by a pained screech from the blonde.

"This isn't working!" Gray spat.

"Keep going, Cobra," Natsu said, glaring at the Ice Make mage. "I can smell it. The poison's coming out."

His fingers pushed further into her wounds, and he had to force himself to ignore the slick blood dripping down to his knuckles and hand. He couldn't focus on the tears streaming down the sides of her face, or the pain that echoed in his soul from seeing her like this.

For all the pain Cobra had caused Lucy in the past, before they knew each other, this was so much worse. Because every ounce of her agony filled him this time. Her fear sent his head spinning. The other souls in the room faded until he only heard Lucy, but it was louder than ever before and he knew before it happened that this was going to hurt.

Searing heat burst behind his eye, swelling until every bit of space between his pointed ears throbbed.

Happy gasped, staring in horror as thin rivulets of blood trickled down from his nose. "Cobra!"

"I'm fine," he spat. One more breath into her, another powerful burst of magic from his hand, and then he was finished. His fingers withdrew from her injured side and fell limp on the bed while her soul shrieked between his ears. "Damnit, Lucy… Calm down."

"You really expect her to calm down right now?" Gray frowned, struggling to hold her leg in place.

Cobra simply ignored him, just like he ignored the shock on everyone's faces when he sat up and swiped the blood from his hand onto his pants. If he could get his vision to even out, then he would be able to stitch her up. Then she'd be fine. He just… needed a minute. Looking down at her wide eyes, seeing the recognition in them - even though he was currently seeing double - at least had Cobra smiling.

"There you are," he whispered. "Stay still for me, okay? Just a few…" His eye closed when the throbbing in his head worsened. "F-Few stitches… Damn…"

"Cobra," Erza said, pushing him to sit up when he swayed, "What's happening?"

"S-Soul's too loud… Damnit…" He shook off her hold and gazed back down at Lucy, seeing her watching him closely even through her own pain. But she'd heard him, she knew what he needed, especially when her soul quieted down and the others came trickling back in.

But she still needed help, and he knew that the mages around them wouldn't be able to stitch her up nearly as well as he could. Cobra refused to let them even try. The last thing Lucy needed was for them to fuck up and have to go to a doctor, or for it to heal wrong and give her a scar. He might not have minded seeing some scars, but he knew she would mind having them.

"C-Cobra?" Lucy rasped.

"Right here," he smirked, his eye still closed.

"Thank you…" He nodded, slowly opening his eye when he felt her shaking fingers wrap around his hand. He heard it from her soul in that moment, not words or a flash of images, but a single emotion that flared to life the longer they looked at one another, a deep burn in the depths of her being washing through her. A giddy, dance of butterflies fluttering in her chest. And even though she didn't say it, he could see it in her eyes when they crinkled with her smile.

"I'll take care of you, so just relax, okay?"

"Cobra," Erza said, "Maybe we should-"

"I'm fine," he said softly, squeezing Lucy's hand before letting go and sliding down to sit on the blonde's thighs. He went through the motions of cleaning his hands with alcohol pads, then swiping at the gashes on her side, prepping the needle and threading it. "You're welcome to stay," he said, leaning over her and pushing the needle into her skin. "Not much to do though."

"What does Lushy do when she's here?" Happy asked.

"We sit around and eat candy," Cobra smirked.

"Do you talk?"

"Sometimes."

"What do you talk about?"

"Happy," Erza sighed, "That's enough. We should let him focus on Lucy right now."

They started to leave the bedroom, and Cobra paused to look at the dejected blue Exceed. "Happy, I need your help." He perked up at that. "Come hold her hand, okay? Mine are a little full right now."

Happy moved on the bed, placing his paw in Lucy's hand and gently rubbing his face across her knuckles while Cobra worked. He purred when she squeezed, trying his best to soothe her and not noticing when Cobra paused to smile down at him.

Time ticked onward until he tied the last knot and cleaned her up, then taped gauze over her stitches. "Good as new," Cobra chuckled.

Lucy nodded, her eyes honing in on the drying blood on his upper lip. "Cobra…"

"I'm fine," he said once again. Now that he knew Lucy was alright, he was more than fine. And even if it meant that he would have to be a host of some sort while their guildmates were around, he was willing to deal with it. "But, you need to get dry and change," he continued, "So either summon Virgo or I'll have Erza help you."

Lucy blanched and dropped her hand to her keys at her hip, singling out the Maid spirit's from memory.

"You know where I keep my clothes," he said, standing from the bed. "And the candy's right here."

Happy's head tilted to one side when Cobra leaned down and pressed his forehead to Lucy's and their eyes closed. 'They look like they're gonna kiss…'

"Make sure you wash your face, okay?"

Cobra sighed when Lucy's lips barely brushed against his, his lips curling into a smile when she ignored the fact that he'd been bleeding because, as her soul put it, "I wanna kiss him so fucking hard." Who was he to deny her something like that?

Happy's jaw dropped. 'Oh my god, they KISSED!'

"Oh shut up," Cobra chuckled, turning and walking out of the room.

It was late one September night, after her stitches were out, that they stumbled into the blonde's apartment, mouths fastened together and both moaning as their tongues danced. A party at the guild had been the cause of it all. Lucy convinced Cobra to go - since he usually stayed holed up in his apartment - by asking that he make sure she didn't drink too much.

And he had. As soon as Lucy started getting a little tipsy, Cobra snagged the alcohol from her, drank it himself, then handed her a glass of water. Every single time Cana tried to sneak more alcohol to Lucy, he caught it. And when questioned about his odd behavior, Lucy simply said that he was doing her a favor, at her request. She wanted to enjoy herself and not wake up with a hangover.

Cobra kicked the door closed and their lips separated. He could feel her breath feathering over his cheek as she kissed across his jaw, then froze as she whispered against his ear.

"Wanna try an experiment?"

Every time Lucy wanted to move forward, she asked the same question.

When they'd slept in her bed for the first time, and they spent the entire night curled around each other instead of just holding hands beneath the blanket.

When she had wanted him to touch her more intimately, with his hands beneath her shirt and running over the flesh not covered by her bra.

When she wanted to see him shirtless a week prior, to touch him the way he'd touched her. Cobra's only stipulation was that he be allowed to do the same, with her shirt off and her bra still on. And they'd spent the entire day like that, lying in his bed, touching, caressing, and (of course) eating candy.

This time, however, Lucy wanted something more - more intimate, and much more embarrassing as far as she was concerned. Her reasoning was sound: they were very nearly dating (even though they never called it that), and had been for about seven months, since their first kiss. She wanted him to touch her, at the very least to see her, while she was naked. Well, that was her goal.

And he was a thankful bastard. Whole scores of deities were gaining his silent thanks while he breathed in her scent.

"You sure?" he whispered, looking into her darkened honey eyes. When she nodded, he kissed her once again. "Alright."

She didn't need to say a word after that. They separated and he locked the door and kicked his boots off then went to sit on her bed while Lucy went to the bathroom to get undressed. And to calm her nerves and remind herself that Cobra was comfortable with her, that he'd been so gentle and attentive to her concerns every time they tried something new.

"Cobra?" Lucy called out from behind the closed door. "Would you…"

"Whatever you want, beautiful," he smirked, pulling off his jacket and shirts and tossing them to the floor. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to be naked, if she was ready for that at all, so shirtless he would be.

And maybe it was a little unconventional, but Cobra didn't care. Lucy set the pace. He wasn't normally comfortable with someone touching him at all, but her curiosity while tracing his scars from being in the Tower had made that first day so strange and also strangely perfect.

She loved when he didn't have a shirt on, and he'd spent the better part of the past week without one because the blonde had made him feel like it was okay to do it. Before she'd started coming to his apartment, he'd still kept at least a thermal on, even though he was alone. But being with Lucy had, oh so slowly, changed that.

It was when Lucy walked out of the bathroom in just her silvery satin robe that Cobra found himself breathless. He could hear her fighting (and failing) not to fidget under the stare of his single wide eye, but there was just no helping it. He could see where her nipples had pebbled beneath the fabric, how they sat just a little lower without her bra on. Her slender, trembling legs and pale, creamy skin. How her fingers fiddled with the tie at her waist, unsure of whether she should remove the robe before or after she got onto the bed.

She came closer, pausing once she was in front of him, standing between his spread legs. "S-So, um…"

"Can I?" he whispered, his eye trailing over her once more until he returned to her gently flushed cheeks and wide, nervous eyes. He would understand if she said no, and he wouldn't fault her for it, but Cobra just really wanted to be the one to take this off of her. His hands lifted to rest over hers on the sash, and she tensed with the realization that he wanted to bare her body.

Lucy nibbled her lip, then nodded. She shivered when his hands trailed over the robe from her hips and down to her thighs. Slowly, at his gentle insistence, she pulled one leg up onto the bed, then the other so she straddled in his lap. And like this, he could look right into her eyes and kiss her to ease her fears. Their lips met and he deepened the kiss before carefully loosening the sash and letting her robe fall open.

Calloused fingers dipped beneath the fabric, trailing across her quivering stomach and to the small of her back. Higher to her shoulders. He rubbed slow, soothing circles across the spots that he'd already explored before, leaving her sighing happily as her hands rested on his bare shoulders.

"Ready?" he whispered against her lips. She didn't answer, but he didn't need her to. His hands circled around to her ribs, down to her stomach, her hips. As long as he didn't look at her, she was fine. And when his thumbs barely brushed the underside of her breasts and Lucy broke away from his lips and turned her head to the side, Cobra paused. His head lowered to gently kiss just behind her ear, a place he'd only recently found that made Lucy melt and shiver with excitement.

"Slow," Lucy whispered with a grimace. It was weird for her, mostly uncomfortable as his hands slid higher inch by agonizingly slow inch. And before she could say a word, Cobra moved back down to her ribs. He didn't question why she didn't want him touching her nipples, most likely because he heard that they were uncomfortably sensitive.

She didn't shy away from his touch as he moved up once more to gently cup her breasts. He kneaded them, drew slow circles across her flesh, and all the while his lips never left that weak spot behind her ear.

"You feel beautiful," he whispered between kisses. "Just the right size."

"They're not too big?"

"No," he smirked. "I like them."

'That's because you haven't seen them…'

"Can I?" She nodded, but he knew she wasn't really ready. She was trying though, trying to let herself be more open with him, to just get over it according to what her soul was whispering. So, Cobra drifted away from her ear and sat back as his hands circled around her hips.

All Lucy could see were the imperfections. Barely visible stretch marks from when her boobs had grown several sizes at the age of thirteen. How they sagged when not being held in the bra that bit into her shoulders and made her back ache. She hated the pale pink buds of her nipples.

But what she hated made Cobra fight to keep himself from drooling. He didn't care about stretch marks - those were par for the course with a chest this size. And even though she thought her nipples were too large, all he wanted was to have his lips around them, to cover every inch of her body with soft, reverent kisses. And yes, she was right that they were lower than when her bra was on, but it was natural. The gentle slope of her chest had him aching to taste her.

Everything from her collar bones to her navel begged for his touch. And when his eye travelled just a little lower, he smiled at the sight of a pair of deep purple boyshorts covering her sex.

"God, I'm a lucky motherfucker," he rasped.

"Shut up," Lucy muttered.

"I'm serious," he grinned, reaching up to turn her toward his lips again. "You're beautiful, Lucy. So fucking beautiful."

She kissed him desperately after that, the knotted mess in her soul unraveling just a little more as she scooted forward and pressed their bodies flush together. Her arms wound around his shoulders, fingers flattening over the scars on his back. Eventually, Cobra leaned back so she could lie atop him. She didn't writhe or rub herself all over him like a cat in heat, but he was surprised to find her arching into his touch as his fingers smoothed down her back and curved around her thighs.

"Just this?" Lucy whispered, pulling back from his kiss-swollen lips to look into his eye. Cobra smiled when he heard her heart thudding in her chest from something other than anxiety over being exposed like this. Because even without saying it, Lucy knew by the look in his eye that he only wanted her to be comfortable, that he was perfectly fine with the small step they'd taken.

They spent the rest of the night in her bed, simply touching, exploring, with Cobra learning a little more about the blonde by her breathy sighs and short giggles when he happened upon a ticklish spot. And he was more than pleased to find out that kissing her collarbones, even just letting a finger brush over them, was a surefire way to turn her on.

And when Lucy's hands threaded through his hair for the first time, when his kisses had ventured lower than her chin and he lightly nibbled on her collarbone, her nails scraped lightly against his scalp. She learned that there was a way to make the Poison Dragon Slayer actually purr with contentment as he treated her to a long, languid kiss.

"This is the weirdest one yet," Cobra said, grinning at the pout Lucy sent his way. "I never said I wasn't agreeing to it, but you have no idea how unsexy this will be."

"Well, we can switch some other time," Lucy said, resting her chin on her knees where they were drawn up to her chest. She watched as he sat up on the bed and pulled his tank top off, tossing the fabric to the floor. "If I wasn't on the rag, I'd do it first."

"I really wouldn't mind," Cobra chuckled. She blanched and drew back, but he just shrugged. "I'm a weirdo, but that doesn't bother me. Really, it's just some blood."

"From my vagina." She scrunched her nose at the thought of her monthly uterine gorehouse. He was officially a fucking goner when she did that. Never in his life had Cobra thought he'd find that single expression so goddamn adorable. But he did with her.

"Because you're not pregnant."

"You have to have sex to get pregnant," she giggled. "Pretty sure I've got the whole abstinence thing down to a science."

"True," he said, leaning toward her and humming into the soft kiss she pressed to his lips. "I don't mind it."

"That's still the weirdest part, you know that right?"

"That I'm not frothing at the mouth at just the thought of sticking my dick in you?" She pictured it. God he loved when she did that. Especially because then he could hear her laugh. That beautiful bell of a laugh that shook her shoulders and tended to double her over. He didn't even care that he'd been going in for another kiss and she'd laughed right into his fucking mouth. "My apologies," he chuckled against her still-smiling lips, "I'll try to froth a little more."

"Please don't. I wanna kiss you, not a St. Bernard."

"That has set my mind at ease." And she did it again, laughed right when he tried to kiss her so his lips met her teeth. And still, Cobra couldn't find it in himself to care. It was weird as hell, but still they were having fun. And if there was one thing he'd learned about having a physical side to this relationship with Lucy, it was that the more she was laughing and not focusing on every little thing she thought was wrong with her, or what she worried she wasn't doing right, the easier it was for her to enjoy herself.

"It's not too weird, right?" she asked.

"Nah, not too weird. Just different," he said, winding an arm around her waist and letting his fingers trail over her bare flesh. Their candy and sweatpants time had gained a new requirement to the dress code - a tank top or shirtless for him and a sports bra for her. No one ever visited his apartment anyway - which he was so fucking thankful for - so Lucy didn't need to hide how self-conscious she was, and that meant she could get more comfortable. He was a big supporter of being comfortable.

"You can say no, y'know."

"But you wanna watch me jerk off," he grinned. "Why would I say no to that?"

"Because I just want to watch." She'd explained it when he'd stared at her in shock - a first for the Poison Slayer. Lucy was curious. She wanted to know what he liked before even thinking about doing it herself. Of course, she had the errant thought that maybe she just didn't know what she was doing at all (he hated that she still thought about the reasons Gray might have had for cheating on her). Cobra, however, couldn't really say whether she was right though. He didn't know, after all.

But she didn't want to touch him - well, she did but she swore to herself that she wasn't going to, because she remembered him saying he didn't like being touched. Even though she'd gotten well into his personal space several times before, and he'd had no issue with it. And, of course, the blonde had never seen a man masturbate, so she was even more curious about it. It was actually kind of cute.

"You could join me," he offered.

"This shit's a hot mess and off-limits to even me unless I'm washing or wiping," she said, waving her hand in a vague circle over hips.

"Alright," he laughed. "Your shit is officially under quarantine for two to three more days, then." He pulled away and laid down, then put his hands behind his head.

Lucy frowned, looking from the pants still covering him back to his face. To his eye that was simply watching her. Man, he really enjoyed the way she'd drink him in every time she saw him shirtless. Her gaze was heavy enough to feel as though she was actually touching his skin. "Um… Shouldn't you be..."

"Well, you didn't tell me how you want me," he smirked.

"H-How I want you?"

"Sure. Should I be hard first or do you want me naked so you can watch me get hard?"

"Uh…"

"Do you want me to try to be sexy about this, or just do it like I'm all alone?"

"W-Well…"

"Should I moan like a bitch?" The fact that Lucy's face had gone a very unnatural shade of red was more than amusing. Not that Cobra could laugh about it out loud without embarrassing her so much that she just gave up on this idea of hers. He definitely didn't want that. Still, it was interesting to hear her delving further into her inner pervert. Every time he asked a question, she pictured him doing it.

He had no clue why she was internally laughing over the pink petals drifting through her lewd little fantasies. Okay, he did. That was just silly.

"Should I stay quiet?" he asked. "Call you Daddy, maybe?" And then she laughed. Just like he wanted her to. With her laughter, the nervousness that had been coiling in her gut dissipated.

"Just, um… Like you're alone," Lucy said. "However you do it when I'm not here."

"Well, it won't be exactly like when you're not here."

"Why's that?"

He smirked at the confused pinch in her brow. Really, he was tempted to say that he liked to jerk it in the bathroom on all fours in the bathtub just to hear her laugh again. He pulled one hand down from behind his head and brushed his thumb across her pink-tinted cheek. "Because you are here," he said. "I won't have to picture you. I can just look at you."

Lucy sighed, pulling her knees closer to her chest. "I won't be doing anything interesting," she whispered.

"You don't have to," he said. "Just seeing you can get me hard. Your face, your hair. Hell, if you hold your hand in front of my face, I'll find a way to jerk off to it."

"What the fuck?" she laughed, watching as he shrugged again.

"The real thing's a whole lot better than my imagination, beautiful." And just like he knew she would, Lucy ducked her face behind her knees. Really, the fact that he could make her shy like this was kind of turning him on. "But, if I'm supposed to do the usual…"

Lucy bit her lips when Cobra reached down and, with no preamble whatsoever, hooked his thumbs into his pants and boxers, then pushed them down and kicked them off the bed. She'd yet to see him naked until that moment. And Cobra found that he still enjoyed the way she looked at him, how her eyes shot to his feet, up the length of his legs, skipped over his crotch to look at his chest, stomach, then finally down, following the line of maroon hairs to his genitals.

One hand tucked behind his head once again, Cobra shifted to get more comfortable.

"Now what?"

"Now I have to get a boner," he smirked. "You could help with that." Her lips pursed and he chuckled again. "Just kiss me. Won't take much. It's just hard to get it up when you're staring it down like it owes you fucking money."

Lucy rolled her eyes and uncurled herself to lie down beside him. Usually her arm would wrap around his stomach while they kissed, but she kept herself from touching anything but his lips. Even when he deepened the kiss, his tongue pushing past her lips a little more forcefully than normal, she didn't melt against him.

The same, 'Don't touch, don't touch' mantra repeated in her head.

"Just a little?" he whispered. He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together, then carefully pulled it up to touch his throat. Once he felt her touch, how she sunk into the kiss a little more, Cobra's nerves lit up. Her lips and tongue alone could get him going, and did more often than not, but he wanted her to feel more like she was the reason it was happening.

She still tasted like sugar. Her tongue was a wicked little temptress as it curled around his. Slender fingers sifted through his hair, and Cobra gasped when her thumb brushed along the shell of his ear.

Lucy squeaked when a low moan vibrated from Cobra, and he nearly pulled her on top of him with the sudden need to feel her in his arms.

"Cobra," she giggled, trying to pull back from the kiss. "Come on-"

"Touch my ear again," he rasped, nipping lightly at her lips while pulling in a shaky breath. "One more time." She did it, just a little hesitant, and he couldn't stop another, louder moan from barreling up his throat as her finger paused at the tip, still touching him, prolonging the buzz that skittered through his flesh and hardened his cock in an instant. "F-Fuck, Lucy…"

She pulled back to look down at him, watching as Cobra's fist rose to his lips. Once he'd spit into it, her gaze followed as it shot down to wrap around his hardened member. He stroked slowly at first, from the base to the tip, spreading his spit over every inch of his shaft. She was mesmerized by the way he carefully worked the foreskin lower - she'd never really seen an uncircumcised penis before - then pushed it back up so the tip was almost covered.

"More sensitive," Cobra whispered, biting his lip as she turned to look into his eye again. "You really wanna watch this?"

She smiled and nodded, her eyes drifting from the pinch in his brow to how he chewed his cheek and bit his lip and the way his breath shortened just a little. Every little hum he made, she soaked in. And when her gaze lowered, Lucy was mesmerized by seeing him alternate between wrapping his hand around himself and giving long, slow strokes, to using only his fingertips and quickening his pace. Soft skin slid so easily over his hard length, his foreskin slipping up over the tip before he pushed it back down.

"You know I can smell you getting horny, right?" he hummed, drawing her attention back to his face. "You're welcome to join me."

Boy, did she ever want to take him up on that offer. But just the thought of touching herself while on her period grossed her out.

"Suit yourself," Cobra whispered. His hand lifted to his lips, and he paused when Lucy placed her fingers gently on his knuckles. With a sly smirk, he let her pull it toward her, watching as a line of spit fell from her lips onto his palm. "Why, thank you," he chuckled, closing his hand over himself once again.

"You're very welcome," she giggled. She didn't hesitate when his arm wound around her shoulders, instead getting more comfortable and resting her head on his chest. She could feel the quiet moans rumbling in his chest, listening to his heart beating just a little faster when his legs started twitching. His hips curled, slowly thrusting into his hand, and a slow smiled lifted her lips when she heard him whisper her name between soft curses.

"Damn, just a little more," Cobra hissed. He was too preoccupied with the building tension burning in his gut to notice when Lucy propped herself on her elbow and brought her lips to his ear.

"A little more?" she whispered, smiling when he groaned and tightened his hold around her. "Can I try something?"

"Y-Yeah…" His eye shot open when her lips closed over his ear. "L-Lucy, what…" Just a single kiss to the golden hoop of his earring, and then he felt it. That sinful little tongue of her darted out and slid along the shell, forcing his hand to pump faster, pushing him higher toward that blissful peak. "Hell, yes. Again…"

Lucy giggled against him, shivering when his hand slid down from her shoulder to grasp desperately at her lower back, her hip, then finally her ass. And while she wasn't anywhere close to being as aroused as Cobra right then, that's not what it was about for her. She wanted him to let loose, to show her just how he liked to touch himself. Lucy wanted, most of all, to know that he was comfortable enough with her to be vulnerable like this. Because if he could do it, then she could too.

"Fuck… Shit, fuck, I'm… Oh, Lucy… L-Lucy…"

His stomach tightened, his hips locked in place and his feet pressing into the mattress as his hand pumped harder and faster. She only noticed that in her peripherals though. She was much more focused on the sweat dotting his furrowed brow while pulling her lips from his ear. His lips parted and the short, desperate breaths he pulled in. His muscles clenching over and over again as he brought himself closer to his release.

Their eyes locked, and she smiled while watching his single eye flutter closed when he finally succumbed to ecstasy.

He milked himself dry, licking his lips while sinking back onto the bed. It was only when he heard Lucy's quiet giggle from above that Cobra's eye cracked open again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lucy whispered as she looked down at the thick white streams and splatters contrasting the deeply tanned skin of his stomach. "That was sexy."

Cobra huffed out a wisping laugh and his hand smoothed over her back to the band of her bra. "Whatever you say." He knew one thing though, Lucy didn't realize just how much her being there had made him more ravenous. It wasn't intentional, she didn't know that she'd done anything, but that streak of curiosity in her was going to make him one happy bastard.

"Well, how was it for you?" she laughed.

"Fabulous," he sighed. "Best orgasm ever."

"Right…"

"I had you here," he said, turning his head to brush his lips across her cheek, "Sexy little tease."

"I'm not a tease," she smirked. "I was just curious if you'd like it. And now I'm curious about something else."

He blinked slowly then shrugged, grinning when Lucy's head lowered and her lips drifted down his chest. As her tongue smoothed over his stomach and she pressed open-mouthed kisses to his stomach and ribs, licking away all traces of his release, Cobra's eye closed and he hummed in contentment. He jumped a moment later when her mouth closed over his softened member. "Sensitive!" he squeaked as her tongue slipped beneath his foreskin. "Sh-Shit, sensitive!"

Lucy giggled and lifted her head when he started smacking her away. "Sorry."

"Evil fucking woman," he huffed.

"You like it."

Cobra didn't have to admit out loud that he did, in fact, like her "evil" side. The saucy little shit already knew it. And if he wasn't already over the damn moon for her, when she crawled over and laid against his side and pressed a tender kiss to his cheek, he would have swooned right then. Moreso when she kissed the scar over his right eye socket and whispered, "Happy birthday, Cobra."

Definitely the best birthday he'd had to date.