So, hey! Natsu's shy side comes out in this one! I personally find this chapter really sweet :3 Do you know why? It's cos, in this chapter, Lucy-mmph!
Lucy: LET THE READERS FIND OUT FOR THEMSELVES, IDIOT!
Blaze: Eheh, yeah, sorry! Wouldn't wanna ruin it! Bet you're looking forward to it, right?
Lucy: Um..err...*blush*
Blaze: MUAHAHAHAHA! Oh yeah, thanks to GoldenRoseLuceTanya, The Fire Key, Yahiro365 and xBluieLovex for reviewing! Though it may seem selfish, I was kinda hoping for more... so can you guys please please review? I love seeing them! Thanks to everyone who favourited too! I was so happy! By the way, I wrote the song here myself, and I'm no lyricist, so don't expect much. Also, I haven't wrote for a month because I went to India, so it may be a little rusty :P Anyways, yeah, HERE WE GO!
Natsu: You forgot the disclaimer. Even I'm not that stupid.
Gray: Sure, flame brain, you keep telling yourself that.
Natsu: Hey! You wanna g-!
Blaze- SHUT UP, FIGHT OUTSIDE! Anyways, I own nothing, except for my OC, Abore Radix and the terrible lyrics to the songs!
Lucy thanked the hotel staff member that had delivered their food before closing the door. She walked to the kitchen, her blonde lock swaying with every step. Setting the table for breakfast, Lucy began to sing a song her mother had wrote during her last week of life. Her sweet voice was full of emotion, the notes reverberating from the walls as she sang the sad song.
I sit on the rooftop
Looking up into the sky
Forbidden tears well up inside
Whilst I sit with you, side by side
You gently squeeze my hand
As if to relieve my pain
But the growing void inside of me
Can't be killed, cannot be slain
The loneliness engulfing me
Is slowly swallowing me whole
Your comforting smile will never be
Enough to save this soul
We speak together casually
Just like it's always been
When suddenly the content look
From your face is wiped clean
'Lying is not believing'
You whisper in my ear
I try my best to block you out
I don't want to face my fear
'You know I'm not really here'
You say with a sad smile
The fortress around my emotions
Crumbling all the while
'That's not true, you're here right now!"
I shout as you shake your head
Tears fall down my cheeks as you say
'Deep down, you know I'm dead'
Lucy's eyes began to water as the last note of the song drew out, tears falling from her chocolate orbs as she smiled softly. Slowly, she wound her arms around herself and quietly sobbed. She always sang that song on her mother's death anniversary, and as she hadn't on the actual day, she had decided to sing it now. It was called 'I'm With You When I'm Not', and her mother had wrote it especially for her. It was because as a child, when her father didn't play with her, she would pretend that he was next to her. Layla hadn't wanted her to pretend that she was still alive, no matter how much it hurt that she wasn't. And Lucy, once matured, had realised and respected that. Smiling through the steady stream of tears, she was tempted to laugh at her naiveity. Lucy was about to allow herself to crumple to the floor, when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her and gently pulled her back into a hug. Lucy realised via the heat that the unknown person was Natsu. Said boy leaned down and whispered in her ear,
"Just let it out, Luce."
And so she did. She wailed into her boyfriend's toned chest as the pinkette slowly maneuvered them both to the sofa, sitting himself down with Lucy on his lap, clutching his vest and sobbing. It broke his heart to see her like this. She must have been carrying this pain all along, but never let on. She was strong. And if the burden she carried finally became too much for her to handle on her own, he would be there to take the load from her and set it alight. He was no Prince Charming- but he was Natsu. And even though he wasn't the most perfect guy, he'd always be there for Lucy, offering his entire being up to her in her times of need. When Lucy's cries finally died down, Nastu spoke, still drawing comforting circles on her back.
"Why?"
Lucy looked up, surprised. What did he mean?
"Why didn't you tell me you were upset?"
Continued Natsu for Lucy's enlightenment. At his words, the blonde's eyes filled with tears she wouldn't allow to fall, and she slowly snuggled into her boyfriend's chest.
"I didn't want you to be sad because of me..."
Natsu was slightly shocked by Lucy's honesty. He was expecting her to say that she hadn't wanted to talk about it or something. Smiling softly down at her, the pinkette pulled his girlfriend closer to his chest and buried his head in her hair.
"Silly Lucy...I'm your boyfriend, worrying about you and sharing your sorrow is practically my job!"
He grinned at her when she once again lifted her head, this time her face free from tears and its usual healthy glow returning. Smiling shakily in response, she replied,
"Thanks Natsu, you're the best!"
Then, she hesitantly leaned forwards and kissed his forehead, her lips gone as quickly as they had arrived. When she pulled back, she found herself unable to hide her crimson cheeks due to a pair of arms, belonging to a slightly blushing Natsu, holding her firmly in place. So, she resorted to looking to the side, her flaming cheeks still visible. Suddenly, she felt a pair of chapped lips press against her hot skin and it took a few seconds for her to register that Natsu had just kissed her cheek. Her cheeks darkened to an even more intense shade of red and she tried to hide herself behind her hands. Much to the blonde's despair, her only method of hiding herself did not please Natsu, who growled and gently removed her hands from her red face.
"Don't hide yourself, Lucy! You're beautiful."
This only caused Lucy to blush harder, coaxing a chuckle from the pinkette.
"SH-SHUT UP, NATSU! Oh, and, you may want another shower- I kinda covered you with my tears... eheh..."
The boy frowned and playfully punched the celestial mage on her shoulder,
"Luuuceee~! Fine, I'll shower, but you better set the table!"
"Okay, okay!"
PAGE~~~~~~(¬.¬~~~~~~)BREAK
Lucy hummed happily as she danced around the kitchen, her hips swaying in time to the music. She smiled as she set down the plates for breakfast and flipped on the kettle as she passed it. Natsu always knew exactly how to cheer her up. Twirling around the kitchen, she began to sing once more, this time her face alight with happiness and the melodies dancing out from her mouth uplifting and bright. She was singing a song of happiness.
"As if we were reeling, amongst the threads of memory
As if we were collecting missing pieces to a puzzle
The unwavering key to truth
Is carved into each instant
All the time I spend with you, only seen to be allies
But words that angels decree have never been lies
When I turned back towards the voice whispering in my ear
I opened the door, though unbeknownst to me
We connected the conflicting truths of coincidence and inevitably
Our two paths began to move
Crossing one another time and time again
Our eyes meeting every now and then
As if beckoned by the bird song
I run towards the light
Unknowingly tangling myself deeper in this web
With every step I take
Towards a world I know not about
Flipping through the book of my future, void of any doubt
And every time I fall asleep
From somewhere deep within my dream
I hear a faint, yet nostalgic voice,
Calling to me from the murky haze of memories..."
"You know, you're an amazing singer. If you sing happy songs, that is- I hate it when you sing sad songs. What's the point of using such a beautiful voice to depress people?"
Surprised at the sudden interruption, Lucy turned towards the source of the voice to see a vest-less Natsu leaning against the doorway. It was kinda expected- I mean, who else randomly- wait a second, vest-less? The blonde blushed brilliantly as Natsu sauntered into the kitchen in all of his bare-chested glory. Quickly, she turned away and pretended to be busy with cleaning some 'dirty' plates, still blushing and oblivious to her boyfriend's smirk. He moved to where he was in her line of sight and flexed his biceps, wiggling his eyebrows as he asked,
"Like what you see?"
The girl blushed harder in response, lightly punching him as she stammered,
"Sh-shut up!"
"Come on, you know you do!"
"N-Natsu! Stop it!"
"Fine, fine, come on, let's eat!"
Glad that her boyfriend had finally relented, she sighed in relief and sat down at the table, Natsu sitting opposite her. It was a very small table, a little larger than a coffee table, so it was hard to put both of the plates on, but she'd managed. The pair sat in companionable silence, apart from Natsu's loud munching as he wolfed down his chicken. Soon he finished the dish, whilst Lucy was having trouble finishing her's due to the large portion size.
"Lucccyyyy~?"
"Mmhmm?"
"Did you order dessert?"
"No, why?"
"Aaaaawwww~! I'm still hungryyy~!"
"You can share this spaghetti with me if you want- I'm struggling to eat it all anyway."
"YAY! Thank you Luce, you're the best!"
Lucy smiled at her boyfriend's happiness over pasta and his efforts to eat with his fork because he was sharing with her. She wound some spaghetti on her fork at the same time as Natsu did, and just as she was about to eat it, he exclaimed,
"Hey Luce! Let's have a competition!"
"Sure Natsu, what do we have to do?"
She answered hesitantly, afraid of what it would be.
"Let's see who can slurp up their fork of spaghetti fastest!"
Lucy relaxed- that wasn't so bad. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? She nodded confidently in Natsu's direction.
"Sure- but I'm not gonna go easy on you!"
"P-lease! I'm an eating machine!"
They both lifted their forks to their mouths and began furiously sucking the spaghetti into their mouths.
"Phhooooooooo!"
"Shhhhllllluuuurrr!"
It was pretty much a draw until both locked eyes and started slurping as fast as they could- then it happened. Natsu was going faster, so he was concentrating on staying in the lead and Lucy was trying to catch up, therefore neither noticed something that could lead to a very embarrassing moment- they were both sucking at the same, very long piece of spaghetti. As both reached the 'end' of their strand, the piece of spaghetti lifted into the air and their lips came quickly closer. It was then that Natsu, who had looked up to check on Lucy's progress realised what they were about to unintentionally do and grabbed Lucy's shoulders as an indication to stop. The blonde looked up, surprised, to see how close their faces were and the piece of spaghetti in both of their mouths. She immediately blushed scarlet and tore her eyes away from Natsu. The pinkette, also sporting bright red cheeks, bit into the strand to separate them both, and Lucy followed suit, finally looking back at her boyfriend. Though the strand dropped from their mouths, the pair stayed in the same position, seemingly transfixed on the other's eyes. Slowly, Natsu started to close the distance between them and Lucy closed her eyes in anticipation. They were just about to touch, when the doorbell rang yet again. The couple snapped of their trance and blushed deeper than before, moving away from each other faster than they thought possible. Natsu quickly went to answer the door, and from the kitchen Lucy could hear his frustrated screams at what sounded like a hotel employee coming to collect their plates.
"Eerrr, Sir, I'm sorry for whatever I may have done..."
"DAMN STRAIGHT! YOU SHOULD BE! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, I WOULD'VE FINALLY-!"
Natsu's voice suddenly stopped, and from the dining table Lucy blushed crimson thinking about what he was about to say. After that, she heard her boyfriend sigh and say that he'd be right back, he was going to collect the plates. In her stunned state, she didn't realise that this would mean that he'd be coming back to the kitchen. Lifting a shaky hand, Lucy gently touched her lips and blushed harder, unaware to the fire mage staring at her with a gaze full of love and amazement. 'Just how damn cute can one girl get?' he thought, watching her as she sat in her own little world. Slowly walking over to her, Natsu leant down and gently kissed her head before straightening up and collecting the dishes, trying to hide his blush. Lucy looked up sharply at the contact, blush deepening further when she saw who was there and what he'd just done. The pinkette scurried out and handed the plates to the man at the door, closing it with a soft 'click'.
"Damn it..."
He whispered, quiet so Lucy didn't hear him. When he returned, Lucy's head was in the same position, upright and staring into the space where he had stood, eyes wide and fingers on her lips. Slowly, she dragged her hand from her mouth up to the spot where he had kissed her and smiled shakily, blush still evident and dark as ever. 'Well, it's now or never!' he told himself as he stepped into the kitchen, alerting the girl to his presence. At once, her head lifted again, and when she met the sight of a nervous Natsu standing, eyes downcast, at the doorway, her cheeks turned so red that it couldn't be called blushing anymore. Sensing her boyfriend's discomfort, she decided to speak first.
"W-What's up, N-Natsu?"
Natsu looked at the blushing girl, amazed. 'She's so selfless... just to save me the embarrassment, she spoke up first... I'm so lucky to have her, and I should make her feel like she's really precious, but I can't work up the courage! Damn it all!' Natsu scowled inwardly, annoyed at how damn terrified he could be for something so easy. He sighed and sat on the chair opposite Lucy. His head remained upright for a minute, eyes looking at the bewildered blonde, gaze full of unsaid questions, before it crashed onto the table, shortly followed by a despondent groan. Seeing Natsu's dismal state, Lucy forgot all about her previous embarrassment and pushed away her seat, running over and kneeling beside him at break-neck speed.
"Natsu? Natsu, what's wrong? Are you sick? Hurt? Natsu?"
Her volume gradually increased with every question, until she was practically shouting. Still her boyfriend remained unresponsive, staring expressionlessly at the patterns on the wooden table.
"Natsu, please, say something! Anything! Tell me you're okay! NATSU~!"
She screamed with all her might, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. That was when Natsu's head shot up from the table and grabbed her shoulders once more, determination set into his eyes. He closed his eyes and quickly closed the short distance between the shocked blonde's lips and his own, lips pressing against hers gently. The girl tensed in his arms. The kiss wasn't hungry, craving for her- it was soft and full of his love. Gradually, Lucy relaxed into the kiss and tentatively wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck, closing her eyes as she leaned in. The kiss was chaste, short and sweet, little more than a peck on the lips. It barely lasted more than a few seconds- but it felt like hours to the couple. When they parted, Natsu looked uncertainly at Lucy. Said mage was blushing bright red, her entire face stained in a rosy colour- and she was looking at him. When their eyes met, the red on both of their cheeks blossomed to new heights, and Natsu looked away from his girlfriend, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Umm...err...s-sorry about that, i-it's just...um...I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"
He said, before running into the refuge of the living room, leaving a dazed Lucy alone in the middle of the room.
PAGE~~~~~~(¬.¬~~~~~~)BREAK
Natsu sat on the floor in the middle of the room, legs crossed and head lowered and hands on his knees. 'What...what did I just do?' He thought, and indeed, Natsu was quite stunned at his random, ten second boldness.
"Hey, Igneel, wherever you are, can you hear me out?"
He whispered into the air, oblivious to the person who had sneaked into the room. Natsu had always found that whenever he had a problem, talking to his missing father about it helped enormously.
"I kinda...lost control for a minute, if you get what I'm saying- I've been wanting to do that for a long time now, but I could never work up the courage to actually do it... and, well, being interrupted just when we were about to... k-kiss... three times, it got to me. Three times I gathered the courage to do it, and three times some stupid people ruin it! Third time's lucky my butt!"
Lucy's eyes widened as he heard what Natsu was saying- she was lurking in the shadows in the back of the room, having got over her momentary shock. 'Does he really care that much about me?' The pinkette's words warmed the eavesdropper's heart- but her happiness plummeted when she heard the rest of his monologue.
"But I haven't messed things up have I, Igneel? I waited for so long to get the girl I loved, and have I just ruined my chances with her? I don't know if I can handle it if things get awkward between us again... it tore me apart last time... I can't lose someone else that I love! What do I do, Igneel?"
To Lucy's complete and utter shock, tears started to flow down Natsu's face. That was it. Something snapped inside her. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his quivering frame, holding him in a tight, loving hug. Natsu was startled when a pair of thin arms snaked around him and started rocking him back and forth.
"L-Lucy? Wha-?"
"How could you, Natsu?"
Immediately, Natsu's spirits dropped. 'Oh... she is mad at me...' He lowered his head again and began to apologise, but he never got past the second word.
"Lucy I-"
"How could you even think that you'd ruined your chances with me?"
"Oh... wait. What?"
Lucy, still behind Natsu, buried her head in his hair and whispered,
"You don't have to do anything...I'll always be there for you, so never, ever worry yourself over something like this again."
"Lucy..."
Natsu's voice was full of awe. How she always managed to cheer him up so effectively, it never failed to amaze him. It was as if she was a part of him, able to feel his emotions and read his thoughts. Natsu was so overwhelmed with his love for her that he turned around, grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, Lucy giving out a short 'eep!' of surprise as she fell. He wasted no time and instantly pulled her small body close to his, holding her in a tight hug.
"E-eh? N-Natsu? I-is something wrong?"
"Please...stay like this a little longer. I need this."
Lucy smiled at the sincerity in his voice and nodded, embracing him and snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. She could feel Natsu's blush and she smiled, an evil plan quickly formulating in her mind. Quickly, she stuck her tongue out of her mouth and licked Natsu's ear, immediately feeling the rise in temperature, seeing as she was still sitting on his lap.
"L-L-LUCYYY~!"
"Kyahahaha! N'awww, wittle Natshoo's sho cuuuttttee~!"
"Lucyyyyy~! S-stop it!"
Natsu shouted out, trying and failing to keep his rising blush at bay. Hearing the girl on his lap laugh yet again, he decided that if he couldn't fight her, he'd join her. He smirked- that sounded like the best idea he'd had in a long time.
"Hey, Luce?"
Lucy stopped giggling abruptly, sensing that Natsu had his own trick up his sleeve. Proceeding with extreme caution, she replied
"Y-yes, Natsu?"
"Have you ever kissed a boy before?"
Natsu grinned when he sensed the girl's face growing hotter by the second. Oh boy, this was going to be fun! Lucy, however, had thoughts of completely the opposite nature- she was cursing her boyfriend's evilness with all the profanities she could possibly think of. It was quite colourful in her mind at that time, with such vivid language.
"W-why d-do you a-ask?"
"Oh, just wondering. So have you?"
Lucy blushed deep red and buried her head in his chest, answering in an embarrassed, muffled tone.
"N-n-n-no, I-I h-h-haven't..."
"Well then..."
Natsu brought his face closer to the blushing blonde's, leaning his forehead against hers as he smiled and murmured,
"I don't think that was a satisfactory first kiss. We'll just have to give it another go..."
Lucy's cheeks burned as Natsu inched closer, shortening the gap between them with each movement of his head towards hers, until his lips brushed against hers once more. This time the pinkette applied more pressure, moving his lips in a steady rhythm, causing the girl to blush even harder. Natsu smiled against her lips when she tried to match his pace, falteringly moving her mouth over his. Slowly, he drew his arms closer together and locked his girlfriend in a tighter hug, pulling her body as close to his as he could without causing her discomfort. Hesitantly, he licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Lucy, still unsure as to what she was meant to do, opened her mouth slightly and felt a hot tongue encouraging her by prodding her lips lightly. The searing warmth then entered her mouth, exploring its every nook and cranny. She felt Natsu's tongue poke and stroke her own, trying to get her to do the same. Shyly, she stroked it, doubtful of her skills and if what she was doing was right. Immediately Natsu's tongue wrapped around hers in an action of praise that made her gasp. The fire mage took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue stimulating Lucy's as the girl struggled to keep up. Eventually, she just wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck, tangled her fingers in his hair and let the boy kiss her senseless. When they parted for much needed breath, Natsu smirked and breathed,
"Was that better?"
:O THEY FINALLY DID IT! Soooo~? Did ya like it? Please tell me if the kiss scene was any good in your reviews! It's my first time ¬.¬ And my goal for this is forty reviews by the time I've finished, so please add to the total tally which is now 17 by reviewing! Also, thanks to all of those people who've favourited my story and me! I love you guys! *hugs and free cookies* Toodleoo, until next chapter!