First of all I apologize for the lack of updates, I forgot to mention that I would be gone!:o I was on holidays in Ireland for 6 days and it was amaazing! But I didn't have time for writing or updating. I'm back though! ^-^

you liiike her

When the door swung open, Natsu blinked several times.

But the scene in front of him didn't change.

There stood Lucy, wrapped in a blanket, a dangerous glare on her face and his cat pressed tightly into the valley of her breasts.

"You can't have him," she hissed, and then the door slammed shut.

Natsu blinked again.

And he continued blinking for at least twenty seconds before she opened the door once more, this time to actually let him in.

Now he was sitting on her couch with a steaming cup of cocoa - despite the similarly steaming weather - while Lucy sipped on some cool Iced Tea.

"So how'd it go?"

"Eh?" Natsu managed between mouthfuls of the crackers he had ripped open without asking. Her brow twitched for a second, but she did her best to ignore his eating habits and nonexistent manners.

"The weekend?"

"Oh! Was great."

The loud sound of crackers being obliberated filled the air, but Natsu didn't seem to realize that the silence that had fallen otherwise was deadly. Only when Happy jumped off his lap to rub against Lucy's knee did he notice her slight annoyance. Her hand automatically found the back of Happy's ears.

With half a cracker hanging out of his mouth, he chose to further investigate.

"Everything alright, Lucy?"

"That - is - what - I'm - asking - you."

From the way her clenched fist was shaking, he considered himself lucky to still be sitting on this extremely comfortable couch instead of having been punched onto the cold hard ground.

Well - he did probably owe her the story, did he not?

If anyone had the right to know, then her.

"It was…good," he started, quickly continuing when her eyes squinted yet again. "It was good to see the others again."

"You said that before, but… who are they? The others?"

Lucy pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin atop them.

Nobody he'd ever met since leaving Magnolia had ever seemed so genuinely interested in his background, so invested and caring. Sure, people had asked. But it had always seemed to be out of curiosity more than anything else, and had had little to do with him, with Natsu. There had always been this lingering greed in their eyes. It could have been anyone else, any nextbest interesting story that would make them feel special.

And, well, he hadn't really told anybody either. Just vague insinuations; some drunk stories - but he had never told a single person what he had told Lucy back then, when he had not-so-accidentally invaded her apartment. In fact, he hadn't even talked about Igneel's death with his family.

Not until this weekend.

"My sister… and mom. And some old friends."

When he looked back at her, Lucy had turned further towards him, right cheek resting on her left knee now, eyes silently beckoning him to go on.

"They cried their eyes out when I came back. Wendy and Grandine, I mean. That's my sis and mom. Well, step-sister and mom, but I don't really care. I cared about the crying though."

Natsu scrunched up his brows as he recalled their faces, closing his eyes for a moment. The quiet sound of Lucy's glass being sat against the table brought him back to reality. The weight of the couch shifted when she scooted a little closer to him as she leaned back. He pretended he didn't notice.

"I felt like shit for leaving them like that and then never even calling. But I just… dunno, I needed some time alone."

It seemed to satisfy her. Her eyes softened, and she gave a small nod. Somehow he knew she wouldn't pry further, wouldn't make him tell her things he might not be ready to tell.

"You… really loved your dad a lot, didn't you?"

"…yeah."

The touch of her hand was soft on his shoulder, but he kept his eyes fixed on the cup of cocoa in his hands. It was still hot.

"Anyways," Natsu harrumphed, suddenly embarassed. "I also met some old friends, and they said they might visit next weekend. You're gonna love them!"

If she noticed his poor attempt to change topic, then she didn't give anything away. But her hand left his shoulder, and he couldn't deny the distinct feeling of loss it left him with.

"O-oh! I'm going to meet them? Won't you be too busy catching up and …stuff? You'll have more important things to do for sure."

"We did enough of that yesterday. And what could be more important than you?"

He grinned at her, an expression that reached from one ear to the other and made him close his eyes. His soft chuckle filled the room. When it died away, the only sound left in the room was the occasional purr from Happy, who had fallen asleep in Lucy's lap.

Natsu quirked one eye open to find her blushing.

It was so easy to push her buttons sometimes. Then there were other times, where he just couldn't figure her out.

But he had always loved a challenge.

Oh but Lucy was not just a challenge. Lucy was so much more. She was his saving grace; his silver lining.

She challenged him, too.

"I wouldn't have gone back without you. So … thankyou," he mumbled, expression turning serious yet again. He'd never really thanked her, had he? There was so much he wanted to say to her. But talking about his feelings had never been his strong side. So he chose to go with that simple confession - and to show her his gratitude instead.

With his hand softly settling on her cheek, he leaned in closer and watched her eyes flutter shut just before his lips met hers. They moulded together perfectly. The kiss was different than the last time: slower, gentler, with their barely contained feelings palpable in every movement. More innocent.

As their mouths parted, they stayed close for a moment longer, as if the other's lips were the only gravity in their world, and they might tumble into unknown depths dare they pull back. His lips brushed against hers again, just a faint touch, and then he opened his eyes, watching her closed eyelids tremble as much as her lips.

He could have stared forever.

Hell, he could kiss her forever.

Before she could open her eyes, his lips found hers again, more fervent this time. She responded in equal measure, and he felt her hand slide along his upper arm - and then something wet bopped against both their chins.

Whiskers tickled the underside of his chin, and from the way Lucy gasped and pulled back he knew they were doing the same to hers. Happy's head appeared between their faces, and he cocked it slightly, big round eyes fixed on him, and Natsu could have sworn the bastard wasgrinning when he meowed innocently.

"Happy!"

But Natsu's attention was drawn away from his intervening friend when a loud giggle reached his ears, and he ignored the tail that dragged along his nose and over his eyes in favour of the sight in front of him.

Lucy, red cheeks and all, was sitting opposite of him, clutching her hand to her mouth as uncontrollable laughter shook her. It only increased when she blinked at him at just the right moment to see Happy stuff his blue tail into Natsu's mouth, to which he answered by spluttering and coughing.

Happy meowed again, apparently very satisfied with himself.

And Natsu joined in on Lucy's laughter until neither of them had a single breath left in their lungs.