AN: There's smut at the end. You have been warned.
Benefits
Chapter Five: Double Date
Lucy isn't sure how she ended up here. Actually, that's a lie. She knows exactly how she ended up here and she blames Natsu for it. This is all his fault and Lucy's not going to forgive him for duping her like this. She won't be had by her There has to be something illegal about this, because is definitely not here on her own free will. Natsu practically had to drag her here and she is, not having a good time in the slightest. And Gajeel won't stop smirking and she would rip that look right off his face if they weren't in public.
Natsu's hand drops beneath the table to rest against her thigh, giving her a soft squeeze, and Lucy shoots him a nasty look out of the corner of her eye, fighting the urge to pout. He's only trying to help, always attentive to her growing nerves, but frankly he's the reason she's here in the first place and technically this is his fault. As if reading her thoughts, Natsu winces, but sends her a small, reassuring smile, silently promising everything's going to be okay.
Which is a big fat lie, but Lucy digresses. Things can't get much worse at this point. It's already raining and Lucy's pretty sure her makeup is smudged beyond repair and if Natsu doesn't stop touching her thigh in the next ten seconds she's probably going to snap and jump him in the booth, which would be all kinds of uncomfortable for the occupants of the café.
They'd be thrown out for that for sure. She's fairly certain that groping her best friend in public violates some kind of "no shirt, no shoes" law.
And she likes this café. It's quiet and nice and this is where Lucy got through ninety-percent of her college papers without crying. She used to curl up in one of the back booths with Natsu and she would work on her papers while he tried to distract her, inevitably leading to them making too much noise and fondly being kicked out by the owner, Aquarius.
This is also the site of the infamous chilly-cheese fries incident of their sophomore year of college, the recollection of which once caused Jellal to laugh so hard he snorted milk out of his nose. That reaction was probably better than the chilly-cheese fries incident in itself. Lucy didn't even know Jellal could laugh much less snort out milk.
Regardless, this café is sacred and filled with memories of chilly-cheese and late night conversations, and Natsu is ruining the sanctity of this café by bringing her here for the worst not-double-date of her life. Because this isn't a date. It's just two not-dating people who have slightly less than casual sex hanging out with their friends in a very committed relationship.
Completely normal.
How the fuck did she end up in this situation again?
Lucy rolled on top of Natsu, hips sliding against his slowly, and he groaned as his fingers curled around her hips, keeping her in place as she perused his neck. Humming to herself, Lucy lost herself in the taste of his skin. She worked her way down his neck, paying special attention to a spot that made him gasp, his fingers digging into her bare skin. Her lips brushed against the scar on his throat, Natsu moaning her name, and she grinned before dragging her teeth along his sensitive skin.
His reaction is gratifying, a low sound tearing from his chest as he rocked up against her. The pressure against her core was mind-numbing, Lucy unable to simply think as he ground her down against him, his stiff member pressing into her thigh and making her pant.
Natsu's fingers found her throat, pulling her up to meet him gently. Lucy sighed as her lips met his, the kiss far more gentle than she would have expected from him. His fingertips dragged along the bare skin of her back, tracing shapes against her spine and causing her to giggle against him, Lucy squirming on his lap. A sharp roll of her hips made him curse against her lips, Natsu mumbling praise as her tongue toyed with the piercing in his lip.
His piercings continued to be fascinating to her, Lucy finding them every time they come together like this. Before Natsu, Lucy never would have guessed she'd have a thing for them. She had her bad boy phases, of course. She was seventeen once and her father was strict.
Consequently, that was how she met Gajeel, which was both unrelated and something she would rather not think about when she had Natsu's fingers stroking the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.
Her fingers tangled through his hair, Natsu pressing scorching kisses across her jaw and down her throat, Lucy silently bemoaning the fact that she'd have to cover the bruises later, not wanting to deal with the teasing at work later. Gajeel would never let it go and Cana would ask far too many questions about Natsu's performance and Lucy would rather die than talk about Natsu's dick with his cousin and a pervert.
Though, she doubted Gajeel would want to hear anything about how absolutely fantastic his cousin is in bed anyway. Besides, Lucy would much rather keep that information to herself. She never was the best at sharing, least of all about things like this.
Whatever "this" was.
Gray's words from a few days earlier flooded back to her, but she shoved them aside, grinding down against Natsu harder to distract herself from her thoughts.
Natsu gasped something beneath her, hands stilling her hips suddenly, ceasing her movements. Lucy froze against him, gaze immediately finding his face, eyes wide, but he merely sent her a shaky smile. His lips parted and then he said the last thing she was expecting.
Lucy blinked down at him stupidly for a moment, unable to process the words, which were certainly not any form of pillow talk Lucy was used to. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" she asked, head tilting to the side curiously.
Natsu blanched, grip tightening on her thighs as he forced himself to sit up on the bed. Lucy fell into his lap willingly, suspicion painted across her face as she stared at him. Natsu avoided her gaze, one hand slipping around to the small of her back to keep her balanced as the other went to the back of his head. His fingers ruffled his hair nervously, Natsu biting his lower lip in a way that made her stomach flip.
Her stomach had been doing that a lot lately because of him, but usually in a more positive way.
"Gajeel invited us out to lunch this afternoon," he told her, voice a pitch higher than usual. Lucy narrowed her eyes, but looped her arms around his neck regardless of the fact she knew he was hiding something. Natsu always had a spectacular poker face, but he never was able to lie to her. It always showed in his eyes.
Her fingers slid through his hair easily, nails dragging across his scalp and making him groan lowly. "Oh?" she asked, coy with an edge of disbelief in her tone. Natsu traced a pattern across her thigh, making her squirm, but it only made her disbelief grow. "Just the three of us?" Sarcasm creeped into her words, and they come out as a low hiss.
Lucy rolled her eyes, already aware of what he was doing, and none to impressed at his attempt at being sly.
"Not exactly," he admitted, cringing as he coiled his arms around her, as if afraid she would disappear.
Humming in thought, Lucy allowed him to nose as her jaw apologetically. He dipped his chin slightly, pressing his lips to a sensitive spot on her neck, and Lucy sighed, exasperated but happy as he began working his way down her throat. "And you decide to tell me this when I'm about to have sex with you because?" she murmured, genuinely curious.
The boys were conspiring to force her and Levy to talk, Lucy highly doubted now was the time to discuss that. She could have complained, refused to go and told Natsu to fuck off, but she missed Levy more than thought she would. It'd been nearly a month since they argued, the summer slowly slipping away from them, and Lucy knew this was the push they both needed to work things out.
Natsu shrugged, mouthing at the side of her neck. "I figured you'd be mad if I waited until we were done," he said, peppering soft kisses down to her shoulder. Lucy shivered against him, tilting her head to the side when he kissed her pulse, nipping at her.
"I'd be more compliant if I was satiated," she joked, arching into him when he suddenly grabbed her ass, grinding her down against him.
Natsu's hot breath fanned across her lips, making Lucy's thighs tighten around him. "I'll make it up to you," he promised, voice low in her ear, nearly a growl. A shiver ran up Lucy's spine, but Natsu pulled away from her a moment later, sighing. Gently, he rolled them over, resting his weight onto her and finding one of her hands in the early morning light, their fingers linking together. "Will you be okay with this?" Natsu asked, squeezing her hand as he rested his forehead against hers. "You know we both just want to help."
"I know," she whispered back, sighing at the comforting weight of him on top of her. Natsu nosed at her ear, blanketing her, and she looped her free arm around his neck, fingers squeezing around his. "And thank you for that." Lucy smiled, turning to press a sloppy kiss against his cheek. He pinched her side in retaliation, making her giggle and squirm beneath him. Her expression slipped away a moment later, Lucy wincing. "But I don't know how easy that will be."
Propping his chin against her shoulder, Natsu tilted his head to look at her, expression unreadable. "What happened, Lucy?" She winced, realizing she hadn't told him much about what happened that day. Lucy could hardly believe nearly a month had gone by since the first time they had sex. They fell into things so naturally. It merely became another part of the day for them.
She shrugged. "When I told her about this," she began, playing with his fingers as he stared down at her. "Us. She was mad." Lucy sighed, shifting underneath him until she pressed her nose to his chest, practically hiding beneath him. "I would have thought she'd be…" Lucy trailed off, the words dying on her lips before she could say them.
Natsu pressed a kiss against her hair. "She'd be what?" he murmured.
Happy. "It doesn't matter," she promised, heart squeezing in her chest. "I just thought she'd be more supportive, but she wasn't. And that hurt." Lucy would have thought Levy, of all people, would have more faith in her, but she could understand the reasoning. People get hurt in situations like theirs. "I know why she thinks this won't end well but…"
Above her, Natsu tensed, breath hot against her. "Jet?" he asked, an unfamiliar rumble to the words, something thick lacing his tongue.
She hummed in agreement, pressing a kiss to his naked shoulder. Her hand followed, fingertips tracing the fine lines of his arm muscles. Jet was a black stain on their group during the early years of college. Gajeel and Levy danced around each other for nearly two years before she grew fed up with waiting for the man. Instead, she's started a thing with a friend in one of her classes named Jet.
It didn't end well.
"You know that's not what this is, right?" Lucy asked him suddenly, hand wiggling from his grasp so she could cradle his face, thumbs stroking his cheeks as he stared down at her. Natsu's gaze was heartbreakingly honest, Lucy easily losing herself in the familiar green. A lump welled in Lucy's throat, tears suddenly burning at her eyes. Her grip on him grew tight, a panic suddenly seizing her as her hands began to tremble. "You mean more to me than just—" she cut off abruptly, hiccupping as she clung to him.
Natsu's eyes went wide, his lips parting slightly before he hushed her, both arms curling around her tight as his legs tangled with hers, Natsu winding himself around her completely. "I know, Lucy," he whispered, leaning in for a chaste kiss. "I know." She squeezed her eyes shut, trembling beneath him, and Natsu nuzzled her hair, murmuring nonsense against her as she fought back tears, unsure why she was so upset. "Hey, you're okay," he promised, cooing down at her. "And you know how much you mean to me, too."
Groaning, Lucy returns to the present, her fingers drumming against the tabletop as she stares at the bare surface, the four of them waiting for their meals to arrive. With every passing minute Lucy feels a little more like dying. The silence is eating at her, Levy steadfast ignoring her and Gajeel and Natsu whispering to each other and watching them like a tennis match. Which would be a lot more pertinent if something were actually happening.
Not that Lucy particularly wants to get into an argument in the middle of a café, but at least that would be better than Levy ignoring her. It stings, the way Levy won't even look at her, but Lucy can't seem to find her tongue.
Honestly, it would be a bit more helpful if the boys were actually doing something other than watching in apt fascination, but Natsu's concern is palpable and Gajeel has a look on his face that makes Lucy thinks he's anticipating a cat fight or some other ridiculous thing. She rolls her eyes at the thought, sending Gajeel a nasty look, but he only grins back, hiding a smirk behind his coffee.
She hopes he chokes on it.
Beneath the table, Natsu squeezes her thigh, shooting her a sideways glance as he plays with his straw, chewing the end of it between his teeth. He's always had something of an oral fixation, something that's become very apparent to her in light of recent events, but she's noticed it since high school. Natsu's always been chewing on something: his lip, pencils, straws, practically anything.
Lucy leans into his touch, sighing softly and wishing lunch would just be over. As much as she loves feeling awkward in a public establishment, Lucy kind of feels like grabbing her fork and stabbing herself with it. The hospital bills wouldn't be worth it, but at least it would get her out of this mess.
She applauds the boys for trying, but this is definitely up there in her list of top worst dates of all time. Probably third place behind that date with a guy her father set her up with and a very unfortunate night spent with some guy named Hibiki, in which his other girlfriend showed up.
Lucy really should have said no to that date, but it was freshman year and it was the first date she'd gone on on her own accord. She didn't know much about him at the time, other than that he was a part of some odd host clue type thing with his friends. In hindsight that should have been a red flag, but frankly Lucy thought he was joking about that.
Turns out he was not, in fact, joking.
She's pretty sure Hibiki works at the Blue Pegasus in Clover Town now, which is some kind of male strip club. Lucy sincerely hopes that Cana doesn't make good on her promise to take them to a male strip joint for Erza's inevitable bachelorette party. Jellal will popping the question any week now, and Lucy would rather avoid any unnecessary drama. Besides, strip clubs are no fun if everyone is already in a relationship or not interested in men.
Lucy isn't entirely sure where she stands with Natsu at this point, but she knows she doesn't like the thought of someone that isn't her giving him a lap dance. And if she had to guess, judging by the hand creeping higher on her leg with every passing minute, she doubts he would be very taken with the idea.
"Natsu," she says suddenly, cutting off his conversation with Gajeel. His head snaps around immediately, eyes wide as she speaks for the first time since spotting Gajeel and Levy waiting for them at the table. Gajeel and Levy both turn to her as well, varying degrees of curiosity on their faces. "If you don't get your hand of my leg in the next two seconds, I'm going to stab you with my fork."
Lucy twirls the silverware threateningly, trying and failing to hide her smile at his wide-eyed look. His mouth drops open slightly, expression owlish, but his hand doesn't leave her leg. In fact, he dares to give her a little squeeze, fingertips slipping under the hem of her skirt for a moment, tickling her.
It's not that she doesn't like his hand where it is, but they are in a very public place and Lucy's frustration has only been growing since this morning. She's not sure how much caressing she can handle before something unfortunate happens.
Gajeel looks an odd mixture of amused and disgusted, and Levy bites her lip to smother a smile, relaxing in her seat slightly, the tension thinning momentarily.
"That's hot," Natsu tells her suddenly, lips twisting into a wide grin. Something dark floods his eyes, Natsu's grip on her growing tighter, fingers daring to slide higher for a moment. His tongue flicks across his lips, which would be entirely innocent if she didn't know exactly where that tongue has been.
Gajeel chokes on his drink, nearly spitting out a mouthful of coffee onto the table. He hacks for a moment. "Eww," he hisses at them, glaring and looking between the two of them in disgust. "What the fuck? I don't wanna know what you two are into." He shakes his head, cringing, and Lucy has to agree with him there.
She, for one, would rather not have Gajeel know what she's into in the bedroom. Not that she's into knife play or whatever stabbing people with kitchen utensils falls under. But if she was, she wouldn't want Gajeel of all people knowing about it. Besides, she can imagine it's not much fun for him to know what his cousin likes to do. That would be like her knowing what Laxus likes to do with his dates.
Lucy gags a little in her mouth, disgust flooding through her. As much as she adores Laxus, she really doesn't want to know about his bedroom habits. She already has some inkling as to what goes on, considering the talk he gave her back when she was sixteen.
Shocking people is certainly not what she would have expected and it grosses her out a little bit to think about.
Natsu shrugs as he lifts his glass to his mouth, grin shit-eating as he looks at Gajeel over the rim. "You'd be surprised," he murmurs in response to Gajeel's disgusted statement.
It startles Levy into a giggle, Gajeel sputtering before sending Natsu a dirty look.
Lucy isn't quite as amused. "Natsu!" she snaps, swatting at him, much to his amusement. He grabs her by the hand, yanking her towards him, and tosses an arm around her shoulders, tucking her tight against his side. She huffs, sending him a dirty look, but settles against him regardless, liking the feel of him pressed against her.
Natsu leans down, pressing his lips to her temple in a quick kiss before he's suddenly dragged into an argument with Gajeel, the two bickering about some nonsense that Lucy doesn't bother listening to, sure it's merely something about food or who's better at what. Honestly, she can only listen to so many of the guys arguments before they get tiresome.
She settles against him easily, dropping her head back to rest against his shoulder as she leeches off his warmth. Her stomach growls, but Lucy ignores it, feeling eyes watching her as her fingers come up to tangle with Natsu's.
Her eyes lock with Levy across the table, and her friend bites at her lower lip as she ducks her head, dyed hair falling into her eyes and shielding her face from view for a moment. Levy peers up again a moment later, gaze jumping from Lucy to Natsu and then Gajeel, as if she doesn't know what to say. Levy doesn't look angry anymore, just sad and confused.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy purses her lips, bracing herself for the conversation they need to have.
"So how've you been?" she asks Levy slowly, forcing a smile onto her face. It feels more like a grimace then anything, Lucy unsure how to bring up what happened. She supposes a more direct approach would be a terrible decision. Their last conversation ended with one of them storming from the building, and as fun as that was, Lucy could do without a repeat.
There's a lull in the boys' conversation, the pair waiting for Levy to respond, which the girl does with a strained smile similar to Lucy's, more awkward than angry.
"Good!" Levy responds almost too brightly. She clears her throat, shifting slightly in her seat, and Gajeel's arm slinks around her waist, giving her a calming squeeze. "I'm good," Levy repeats, relaxing into her boyfriend's side, her smile becoming a bit more natural. "You?"
Natsu's fingers brush against Lucy's palm, a quiet comfort, and she takes a breath before replying. She wishes it wasn't so hard to talk to one of her best friends, their conversation stilted and strange, but they have to ease into that. "Fine. I've been kept busy." She snorts, shaking her head, and Levy suddenly grins.
Levy leans across the table, biting her lip as excitement flashes in her eyes. "Are you still working on your book?" she asks, practically vibrating in her seat, and Lucy giggles, knowing how much of a reader her friend is.
When Lucy first told Levy she wanted to make a career out of writing the other girl screamed and practically demanded she be the first to read anything Lucy finished. She agreed wholeheartedly, trusting Levy's opinions more than most.
She supposes that's why it stung so much when they fought.
"When I can," Lucy tells her, snorting softly. "Between Natsu and work I barely have time for myself," she jokes. Natsu glances down at her, pouting, and reaches up to pinch her nose, making her squeal in surprise. Levy laughs, the awkwardness seeming to melt away from them, at least momentarily.
Levy props her chin onto her hand, sighing and blowing a wayward strand of hair away from her eyes.. "I can believe it." She jerks her chin in Gajeel's direction, reaching over to pat him on the shoulder. "Gajeel says the bar has been crazy lately."
"Well, he's certainly not wrong," Lucy agrees. It's been hectic and the bar has certainly been eating into Lucy's personal time. She's been asked to stay later lately, and Lucy doesn't mind working overtime because Gajeel's dad typically pays well, but she misses getting to spend time with Natsu at night, or the rest of her friends, for that matter. "How's your internship going?"
Levy blanches, nose wrinkling and shrugs. "Okay," she admits, less than impressed. "They promoted me from drowning in paperwork to getting them coffee." She rolls her eyes, less than impressed with her current job, and Lucy bites back a laugh. Levy's been interning for a local publishing company for months now, and is decidedly less than impressed with running errands for people who can't be bothered to remember her name.
"At least you aren't cleaning out the back rooms," Lucy teases, cringing at the idea. She's had jobs like that in the past, and she can safely say they were some of the worst jobs she ever had. Lucy's typically a well organized person, but clearing out storage rooms is the bane of her existence.
She found so many disgusting things when she was interning her second year of college. Used condoms weren't even the worst of it, unfortunately. The months she worked with Jose Porla were quite possibly the worst of her life and she spent many nights complaining to Natsu when he inevitably wound up in her bed.
Levy merely groans, wincing slightly. "I'm sure that'll be next," she grumbles.
Their conversation slips into nothing, and Lucy takes a breath, deciding now is as good a time as any to bring up what happened.
Off to her right, someone clears their throat. Lucy jolts at the sudden presence, then sighs as she peels her gaze away from Levy realizing they'll have to save their conversation for a later time. Levy watches her for a moment longer before turning towards their waitress with a small smile. Lucy tilts her head back, loath to pull away from Natsu.
She smiles at the server immediately, a shy, pretty niece of Aquarius named Aries that Lucy recognizes from several of her classes in college. Aries flashes a small smile as she sees Lucy, pink hair curled in small ringlets and pinned away from her face. "Hi," she greets them, voice devoid of the stutter that plagued her when they were still in school. "I just wanted to let you all know your food will be out in just a few more minutes!" She doesn't stay long, flashing a smile before disappearing off to another table, and the four of them fall into a moment of silence.
Levy clears her throat suddenly, patting Gajeel on the arm before sliding towards the outside of the booth. "I'll be right back," she tells them, a tight smile on her face as her gaze slips to Lucy for a moment. "I have to use the restroom." She turns to mumble something to Gajeel, voice too low to hear and Natsu squeezes her fingers, gaining Lucy's attention when he pinches her thigh.
Automatically, she swats at him, shooing his hand from her leg with a pout. Natsu always has had a thing for pinching, and Lucy can't say that she completely hates it, but she would much rather he not do that in public, lest she accidentally start moaning or something. Granted, that might be his goal.
Lucy glances up at him, frowning slightly, and he jerks his chin sharply in Levy's direction, the pair of them watching as she walks towards the back of the café. Lucy follows her with her eyes, biting her lip as her stomach twists into knots, Lucy suddenly feeling very sick. He wants her to go talk to Levy.
And God does she want to, but Lucy isn't quite sure how Levy will react. She hasn't seemed angry at all today, only quiet, and Lucy isn't entirely sure what to make of it yet. Lucy figures if Levy was still upset she wouldn't even be here now. She's always been headstrong like that. No one has ever gotten Levy McGarden to do anything she didn't want.
She turns her gaze to Gajeel, who gives her a slow nod, encouraging, and a smile that's all teeth. Lucy finds herself grinning back, matching Gajeel's look, before she glances back at Natsu. Giving her fingers a squeeze he leans down to rest his temple against hers. "It'll be okay," he promises, giving her fingers a final tug before releasing her.
"I'll be right back," she tells them, taking a deep breath before sliding out of the booth and following after Levy.
She finds her friend washing her hands, scrubbing vigorously and murmuring something under her breath, frowning in disgust at something on the floor. Lucy shuts the door behind her, finding the room empty save for Levy, both stalls open. The sound of the sink fills the room, loud and constant, and when Levy shuts it off the bathroom goes eerily quiet.
"It was Jet, wasn't it?" Lucy asks quietly, stepping further into the bathroom and walking to Levy's side. Lucy wets her own hands, giving Levy time to think as they both wash up. Lucy gets it. She doesn't know much about what happened between them, but she knows Levy's had a bad experience with a friends with benefits situation. Lucy doesn't blame her for that, she just wishes she could understand.
Because this isn't about her and Natsu, not really.
Levy flinches at the name, eyes squeezing shut as she dries her hands, the paper towel crinkling loudly, the only sound in the room. "Yeah," she admits after a long moment, sighing as she leans back against the sinks, the porcelain edge digging into her lower back as she waits for Lucy to finish. "It was Jet."
Nodding in understanding, Lucy begins drying her own hands, working slowly as she chews her lip in thought. Levy says nothing else, and Lucy doesn't know how far to press. They've only just begun talking again, and she doesn't want to ruin that, but she needs to understand why Levy was so upset. "You never told me what happened," she murmurs, glancing at Levy out of the corner of her eye.
"I never thought anyone needed to know," Levy replies softly, gaze lowering in shame. She curls in on herself slowly, shrinking back against the sink, and Lucy winces as turns to her friend.
For a moment she simply stares, unsure what to say to make things any better. Words always fail her when she needs them most. Lucy can put pen to paper for hours and hours if she wants, but she never seems to know what to say when the situation seems dire.
"Levy…" she starts softly, trailing off, but it catches the other girl's attention. Levy's eyes snap over to her.
"I'm sorry," she blurts, biting her lower lip, an apology in her eyes. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," she continues, turning to better face Lucy. Levy's arms curl around her middle nervously, and she shrinks into herself for a moment before meeting Lucy's eyes once again. "Or stormed out, I just—" She cuts off as suddenly as she starts, nose wrinkling as words fail her.
Lucy softens, taking a step closer to Levy, but she hesitates before reaching out. "It's okay," Lucy promises, sending Levy a soft smile. "I wasn't mad. It hurt, but I didn't blame you." It's the truth. They all say things they don't mean at times, hurting each other, even if they don't mean to. Lucy's used to that, thought not from Levy.
She understands though. Levy just didn't want her to make the same mistakes she did, even if she went about saying so in the wrong way.
Nodding, Levy relaxes slightly, the tension dripping from her like water. She flashes Lucy a small smile, more genuine this time, but doesn't say anything for a moment. Lucy doesn't press her, wanting Levy to take her time. "Jet and I—" she starts, but cuts off just as suddenly, wincing. Her lips press into a tight line, her right foot jiggling nervously.
"You don't have to tell me," Lucy reminds her. She doesn't want Levy telling her if it makes her uncomfortable. That time of college was sensitive to Levy, and the last thing Lucy wants to do is dig up bad memories, even if she's already begun to do so. In hindsight, she should have approached the situation with more tact.
Though, there really is no tactful way to bring up past experiences with casual sex. It's a bit like ripping off a band-aid, best to get it over with quickly. There's no point in dancing around the topic. It won't do them any favors.
Levy shakes her head, waving off Lucy. "I want to," she admits, taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Again, she drifts into silence, gaze far off, lost in memories she'd like to forget. Lucy knows the feeling well. They all have skeletons in their closets.
Some more than others.
Shivering, Lucy curls her arms around herself, shaking the thoughts away before they can linger. Lucy leans back against the tile wall of the bathroom, letting the cold seep into her bones and wishing it could chase away her childhood. She releases a heavy breath, glancing sideways at Levy. "What happened?" she asks quietly, voice echoing in the room.
The sink behind Levy begins to leak, droplets pattering against the basin, slow and steady.
"Remember sophomore year?" Levy asks, the question rhetorical. None of them could forget sophomore year, there was too much that happened. Lucy nods anyway, aware of Levy watching her. "I was pissed at Gajeel at the time," she continues, a rueful smile pulling at her lips.
Lucy snorts, shaking her head. That's an understatement if she's ever heard one. Levy was more than pissed. She'd been waiting for nearly two years for Gajeel to finally get over his pride and ask her out on a date. They were playing an odd game of will they won't they and Sophomore year was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. Levy was the definition of done at that point, and she was ready to walk away from Gajeel without another word.
Things were tense for a while, even between Lucy and Natsu. Levy ended up breaking away from the group for some time, and Lucy rarely saw Gajeel most days, only catching glimpses of him when Natsu and Gray would drag him out for the night. The man was overly snappish at the time. Gajeel was never sunshine and rainbows, but during that time he was especially nasty to everyone.
It wasn't until he made Juvia burst into tears that he finally got over himself and talked to Levy about everything.
The pair started dating less than two weeks later, after avoiding each other for a good three months.
"Everyone was," Lucy grumbles, shaking her head. Gajeel was an ass then, picking fights with everyone and pissing people off left and right. It got to the point where his roommate at the time, Erik, wouldn't let Gajeel back into their room and he ended up having to bunk with Natsu and Gray, which only but the two in horrible moods.
Natsu has only ever snapped at Lucy once in his life, and that was after three weeks of Gajeel rooming with him. He took to sleeping in Lucy's bed after that, desperate to get away from his cousin and his bad attitude. Lucy didn't blame him one bit and welcomed him into her bed easily.
Levy huffs, puffing out her cheeks as she remembers what happened. "He was being an ass and avoiding me and I got tired of waiting," she summarizes, grumbling to herself more than Lucy. Her fingers drum against her arm, but she shakes her head, anger seeping away, replaced with something tired and melancholy. "Jet and I, we were friends before that. We'd known each other since high school, and I just wasn't thinking," she admits.
Lucy remembers that. Levy, Jet, and a man named Droy were practically best friends their first year of college, but things fell apart around the end of sophomore year.
"I hooked up with Jet at a party," she tells Lucy. "It was in March, around spring break." She wrinkles her nose, expression pensive. "We were tipsy and it was… good. Easy."
"Just good?" Lucy can't help but ask, lips quirking into a teasing smile. "Did he finish too fast or something?" She vaguely recalls Jet being on the track team, something that lead to a ridiculous amount of teasing from the other boys. She's heard just about every "quick finish" joke in existence thanks to the boys hanging around her dorm.
"Lucy!" Levy chides, giggling. "Maybe," she jokes. "It didn't matter." Her smile disappears. "We decided it worked and that was that. Neither of us were looking for a relationship and we both made that very clear." Lucy can tell by her tone it didn't last for long. "We kept it casual, hooked up a couple times. We tried hanging out like we always did, but there was nothing there. Not for me." She winces and Lucy flinches, realizing what happened. "Jet he… he wanted something more and I didn't," Levy tells her, nails digging into her arms. "Gajeel and I were starting to work things out at that point, and I didn't want to lead him on." Levy sighs, shaking her head. "He didn't take it well. He said some things and I said some things and… that was it."
Lucy nods, her heart squeezing as she thinks about it. Lucy hasn't seen Jet in months, the man only coming around rarely, his conversations with Levy and Gajeel clipped and awkward. She doesn't want that to happen to her and Natsu. Lucy doesn't know what she would do without him in her life. "You were trying to protect me," she whispers, Levy's anger from before understandable.
Her stomach twists into sick knots.
"No," Levy corrects, "I was just angry." She winces apologetically, reaching out for Lucy's hand and tangling their fingers together, giving a little squeeze. "But you were right. You and Natsu… you aren't me and Jet." She grins up at Lucy, strained but genuine. "Just be careful, okay? I know how much you two care about each other, but things like this… they can get messy," she whispers, voice quiet in the empty room.
Lucy nods, unable to say anything for a long moment. Her throat closes up, hands shaking at her sides. "Does that mean you'll be my shoulder to cry on when this ends horribly?" she tries to joke. Something in her eyes makes Levy wince, and she steps forward into Lucy's arms, pulling her friend into a tight hug.
Lucy sighs, nosing at Natsu's bare chest as she curls into him on the couch, a movie playing quietly in the background. Humming to herself, Lucy tangles her legs with his, drowsy as she stares at the screen, hardly following the plot of the action film he put in earlier. She's more exhausted than she thought she'd be after spending the day with Gajeel and Levy. After lunch the four of them went rollerblading downtown, and, while immensely entertaining, Lucy is more sore than she would have expected.
Pouting, she buries her face against Natsu's neck, pressing a soft kiss against his pulse when his fingers drag along her spine, hands warm against her bare back. She's given up on wearing clothes around him at this point. Somehow they always end up on the floor and she doesn't see the point. Besides, Natsu is warm enough on his own, and much nicer than one of her shirts.
Though, Lucy considers his shirt laying on the floor a foot away, she wouldn't mind stealing his clothes sometime. His shirts are comfortable and smell like him, and Lucy has no shame in admitting to sniffing him when she has the chance. Natsu's always smelled like wood smoke, a campfire. He smells a little bit like home.
Her fingers draw circles against his chest, Lucy frowning as she thinks about the date. She vaguely recalls him telling her he has another fight coming up, though she doesn't remember when. Usually he's put on a training kick the week before a fight, but so far Natsu's been around just as much as he always is, crawling into bed with her and lazing around until after dawn when he should've already been up and working out.
Lucy's hand wanders down his stomach, fingers tracing the defined muscles of his torso. Yeah, she definitely appreciates those workouts. She'd thank Laxus for putting him through so many intense workouts if she didn't think it would be weird. Lucy loves her cousin, she does, but she'd rather not discuss her thing for Natsu's muscles with him.
"Your match is this weekend, right?" Lucy asks him suddenly, curling tighter against his chest as his arm loops around her back, Natsu turning to mouth at her hair. She shivers as his hot breath ghosts her ear, her thighs rubbing together to distract herself from the ache that's been bothering her all day.
He really should have waited until after they were finished this morning. Damn him for being noble.
Subtly, Lucy grinds her hips down against his, hoping he gets the message.
Natsu's hands settle low on her hips, fingers digging into her skin as he presses her tighter against his crotch, a low sound escaping his throat. She hide a smile against his neck, mouth latching onto his throat as she nips at him. "No," Natsu groans out, tilting his head to the side to give her better access to his skin, a sigh pulling from his chest as Lucy nibbles on a sensitive spot, hickey still fading on his skin. "Two weeks," he corrects her.
Lucy pauses in marking his neck, frowning. She distinctly remembers him say two weeks the day they woke up at his apartment, the night of the meteor shower. Granted, she was a bit distracted by his mouth at the time, but she knows what she heard. "They moved it?" she guesses, fingertips slipping below the waistband of his shorts for a moment, just enough to tickle him.
He hums his agreement, pulling her from his neck as his fingers lace through her long hair. "Laxus will be out of town Saturday," he mumbles against her lips, kissing the corner of her mouth gently. "They agreed to push the fight back two weeks for extra training time." Natsu peppers soft kisses on her lips as he speaks, making Lucy giggle.
"Hey," he murmurs a moment later, "did you ever tell Laxus about this?" he asks, not allowing her time to answer before dragging her down into a kiss that's meant to be quick. Lucy holds him in place before he can pull back, shifting so that her legs are on either side of his hips, mouth moving against his languidly, Natsu warm and pliant beneath her.
She pulls back long enough to ask, "No, do you want me to?" before he pulls her back down with a frustrated growl. His tongue sweeps into her mouth easily, running along the back of her teeth and tickling the roof of her mouth before he pulls back to nip at her bottom lip. He worries it between his teeth, the cool metal of his lip piercing making her shiver against him as he releases her with a wet pop.
"God no," Natsu tells her suddenly, in answer to her question. "He'd kill me!"
She rolls her eyes, grinding down against him. "Laxus likes you," she argues, scoffing. Natsu quirks a brow at her, unimpressed and disbelieving. "He tolerates you," she corrects, leaning in to steal another kiss.
"I don't think he'd be tolerating me if he knew I was fucking you," he grumbles against her lips, Lucy shivering at his words. Natsu's hands suddenly twitch against her hips, fingers suddenly groping at her ass, and Lucy gasps as he jerks her upwards, dragging her towards the end of the couch until her spread thighs are nestled on either side of his head.
Lucy has half a moment to process that she's sitting on his face before his thumb brushes along the lace between her legs, the digit coming away slick and wet. She coos, arching into him, and Natsu's hot mouth skims along her sensitive skin, his rough tongue lapping at the juncture of her thigh and pelvis as his finger traces her slit through her damp underwear.
"Natsu," she murmurs, gasping as his thumb brushes against her clit, sending a jolt through her entire body. He grins against her thigh, his thumb rolling against her clit in slow circles. "What are you doing?" she asks, fingers finding his hair and twisting through the bright strands, tugging when he hooks a finger inside her panties, pulling them aside slightly.
Lucy glances down, a deep blush settling across her face as her gaze locks with wicked, green eyes. Natsu stares up at her from between her spread thighs, smirking against her skin. "I said I'd make it up to you," he reminds her, low and rough and Lucy doesn't have a moment to breathe before he forces her down lower, his lips finding her clit easily, tongue tapping against her wonderfully..
"Oh, god," she chokes out, head tilting back as she moans, needy hips pressing tighter against him. She feels him smile against her center, Natsu playing with her clit as one hand guides her hips to roll against him, his free hand slipping between her thighs.
Two fingers slip inside of her easily, and she sighs as they curl within her, Natsu knowing exactly where to touch to make her squirm. And Natsu seems determined to make her squirm tonight. "Fuck, Lucy, you're dripping," he purrs beneath her, a shiver wracking her body as his voice reaches her. Without giving her time to respond, he suckles on her clit gently, teasing her. It drags a low moan of his name from Lucy and his prodding fingers twist inside of her in return, dragging out slowly before plunging back in hard enough to make her back arch, her hips jumping down against him.
He chuckles, the vibrations teasing her clit, and she mewls as he guides her to ride his hand, her hips grinding down against him. Natsu snaps his fingers into her roughly, pulling a choked sob from Lucy as she curls down over his head, tugging at his hair as she shivers.
"Natsu," she gasps as he nips her clit, Lucy's eyes rolling back as her bones hum, Lucy close to toppling over the edge. Her stomach clenches pleasantly, Natsu pressing sloppy kisses against the top of her mound and against her thighs. His hand picks up a faster pace, moving inside of her roughly. While shallow, the strokes are hard enough to make her whine, Lucy biting her lip to keep from being too loud.
They've already gotten several noise complaints lately, and Lucy doesn't exactly feel like losing her apartment.
Her eyes fly open as he nicks a spot inside her, fingers rubbing harshly inside of her as his mouth finds her clit once again, tongue teasing her until she can't even think. "Yes," she hisses, shivering when he chuckles. She mewls when his fingers twist inside her. "Natsu, please," she pants, letting need slip into her voice, knowing he likes in when she begs.
Natsu pauses the movement of his tongue, allowing her to catch her breath despite the fingers still moving roughly inside of her. He inhales sharply when she whimpers, Lucy unable to make anything more than needy sounds, as he grinds her down against him.
"Fuck," he growls before ducking down to envelope her clit between his lips, sucking hard. "You taste so fucking good," he mumbles to her, groaning against her core as he tastes her. Lucy shrieks, the sound slipping into a moan as he laps at her, fingers doing something wonderful inside of her. He beckons her closer to the edge, fingers twisting and curling as he drags them along her insides, prodding at a spot that makes her let out a little sob.
Lucy whimpers, hips swiveling to meet his hands, shamelessly rising to meet the fast motions of his hand. A rough thrust causing her head to fly back, her nails digging into the back of his neck. He groans against her, rolling her clit with his tongue before taking it between his teeth.
Natsu sucks at her clit again, his sharp teeth brushing against her swollen nub, and she can feel herself tipping over the edge. It isn't enough, not quite, and she realizes with mild embarrassment that she needs him talk to her.
Lucy never once fancied herself a fan of dirty talk before, but here she his on the brink of insanity, shivering and whimpering but unable to let go without hearing his voice.
Seeming to know what she needs, Natsu's mouth leaves her wet heat, pulling away enough to pant her name, fingers relentless as he buries them deep inside her. "Show me, Lucy," he murmurs, growling as she twitches against him, his fingers twisting inside of her. "Come on, Baby." He takes her clit back between his lips once more, pinching it between his teeth.
Lucy moans his name as she falls apart, muscles clamping down on his relentless fingers as cums on his hand. Natsu grins against her, fingers not stopping until she's a quivering mess above him, her walls clenching and unclenching around his hand, sucking at his fingers.
His hand slowly as she goes limp above him, the contractions stopping and Lucy panting as he pulls his fingers from inside her, hand leaving a wet trail against her thigh. Natsu noses at her skin, tongue dragging along her flesh as he laps up the juices dripping from her core.
"You satiated now?" he mumbles, smug, drawing a long, slow lick along her slit. Her hips jump against him, sensitive, and Lucy simply feels too good to bicker with him.
Slowly, she worms her way beck down his chest, Natsu helping her along as her legs wobble beneath her. Worn out, Lucy drops down against his chest, tucking herself beneath Natsu's chin as he chuckles. He noses at her hair, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
AN: I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter, but I introduced the Lucy/Levy conflict and needed to wrap that up. Also the smut was kind of a last minute add on, because I felt like a 6K chapter was a bit too short. (I would have written about the rollerblading, but I feel like that would have dragged on, and I'm under a bit of a time crunch. Not that I'm guessing most of you are disappointed about smut showing up.).
Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I'm going to try to update this one every Saturday until it's done, but we'll see how that works out lmao. Also, be sure to continue reviewing! Though I do want to finish this fic, if reviews/general views stay down, I'm not likely to bother updating this once per week. Not for lack of want, but there are several fics I'm working on, and my priority is to update the ones most people care about.