A/N: I present the third chapter. The idea for this one came to me and I wanted to get it over with rather than wait 'til after I slept on it to do it. More than likely, that would have resulted with me losing the idea for this chapter. I tried not to be too descriptive with the sexuals since this is rated T. But in the event that I feel as if these two need to go all the way, I'll continue this in a separate story in the M section. Now I sleep. Please enjoy ^-^/
Chapter Three:
How long was he going to make her wait?
Lucy frowned and looked at the clock to her left on her table. It ticked the time away, slowly and stiffly; unyielding in its own way to her question of where Natsu was. She had written a lot, had crossed out a lot and the evidence of all her work and frustration were scattered around her overflowing bin. She glanced over to the crumpled papers and thought it would be good to tidy while she waited for Natsu to come and read the rest of her story. She pushed her chair back, the legs grating against the hardwood floor of her room and she got up then walked over to the bin.
Getting on her knees, she gathered the discarded papers and threw them in the bin then lifted the bag from inside the receptacle, tied it and walked out to the back of the apartment yard where the big dumpster was. The moon was high, bathing almost everything in its silver light. The night air was a lot cooler than it had been in the day and the gusts of wind that passed by her frame and face refreshed and energized her in some way.
She spun on her heel and went back inside after idly walking around the perimeter of the apartment building. Something inside her deflated at the thought that during her walk, Natsu hadn't appeared or called her name somewhere in the near distance. She went back to her room and shut the door and glanced to the papers on her table. She hadn't read the story over for fear of doing exactly what she had threatened to do earlier that day; burn it. Though Natsu hadn't made her promise not to, it was as good as that with the way he had so seriously asked her not to burn it and finish it. She wondered if he actually had something for romance, and wasn't just a hot-headed, flame brain. She imagined him being on a date, but he seemed so awkward in that setting that it made her laugh hard until she collapsed on her bed, her knees too weak to sustain the weight of her.
"What's so funny?" The voice was a bit distant and sounded strained.
Lucy braced on her elbows and looked straight to the window, where Natsu hoisted himself and came into her room, falling on his butt. Happy's paws came up over Natsu's shoulders then his head appeared from behind Natsu's body and he waved to Lucy.
"What took you so long to get here?" Lucy asked, ignoring his question and setting her feet on the floor, the cotton of her pajama bottoms brushing against her ankles. She wasn't exactly upset, though she did a good job at conveying that. She was relieved to see him, yet had mixed feelings about how happy it really made her. She thought he wouldn't show up but he actually came. She guessed she could always count on him, in that regard. And that one only.
"What took me so long?" He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly – apologetically – then shrugged. "Well I'm here now. So where is it? You didn't already burn it, did you?"
She scoffed and folded her hands. "What would be the point of burning something I worked so hard on?"
"So you finished it?"
She nodded to the table, her hands still folded across her midriff but tighter this time; as if an effort to restrain herself from running for it and trying to keep it away from him. He followed her gaze and smiled, seeing the papers there, her desk lamp shining on it as if it were treasure of some sort. He pushed himself off the floor and went to her desk, dropping himself in her chair as he flipped around to the last page he'd read.
Lucy swallowed, thinking the sound to be inordinately loud in the room that had suddenly lapsed into a heavy silence that made her chest tight. She stared at the back of his head, wondering about the expressions that would come to his face while he read. Was he smiling? Frowning? She heard a snicker. Oh gawd, he was laughing at her.
"Lucy's such a pervert." It had been Happy. Her entire face became red and she grit her teeth and made a grab for Happy. This time, she caught his tail and a dark smile of triumph came to her face as she kicked him out the window; out of her room and away from ruining Natsu's initial thoughts as he read.
He seemed undisturbed by that commotion and she caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes just moved from left to right. His face was an unreadable mask and his eyes reflected that expression. She sat on her bed and waited for him to say something. Her heart was still pounding, for a second she thought he could hear it and pressed a hand to her chest – an effort to silence the sound that only she could hear.
Then there was flip of paper, the only sound that broke the lingering silence for a moment. She looked up again to him. He turned the chair sideways and looked at Lucy. She honestly wished that his expression was something she could easily decipher, but it only confused her. His brows were furrowed, his lips were a tight line but his eyes didn't hold that stoic quality. Was he satisfied with it? Was that what his look meant?
"Lucy, you're a pervert."
"No, I'm not!" She retorted. "That's something that happens naturally between two people who are…are…" She found she couldn't say the words. Her tongue became heavier, her lips refused to form the words.
"In love?" he raised a brow at her and she blinked up at him in surprise; at how easily he said those words. But of course, she expected it to be easy. Natsu would never understand the gravity of those words.
"Yeah, that." She looked away, at nothing in particular but as long as she wasn't looking into Natsu's eyes, she felt better.
"So have you ever felt like Fiona?" he asked as he came to sit beside her on the bed. She inched away from him, wondering why he couldn't maintain the distance between them. She also wondered why she had such a premonition as to where this would lead. It was something like in the story. Something she would have wanted to experience.
"Of course not!"
"Ahh, so you've never kissed a guy before? Nothing like that. No wonder you have no sex appeal," Natsu mumbled this, thinking Lucy didn't hear. Her fist slammed down on his head.
"You're the worst!"
He grunted from the pain and rubbed the top of his head, "I was playing."
"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes. "Yes."
"What?"
"Yes. I've felt like her before."
"Oh."
"Have you?" she looked up at him then, watched his expression shift as he thought about it. He shrugged and shook his head.
"It doesn't count, now."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was an awkward silence between them and Lucy gripped her knees, looking down at her toes as she wondered of something else to say; or waited, rather, for him to say something else.
"Lucy."
"Natsu."
They called each other's names at the same time; and their flushed faces were a reflection of the other's. She played with the embroidered flower on the left leg of her pyjamas and waited.
"What was your favourite part?"
"Their first kiss."
She looked at him then and smiled. "What was yours?"
She waited for him to answer but he didn't. Instead he only looked at her, his gaze shifting between her lips and eyes. Lucy felt the atmosphere contract around them. She could no longer hear the distant croaking of frogs, the chirping of crickets or the low whispers of the wind that carried on the night air. All she could hear was his steady breathing, the shallowness of hers and her pounding heart. She felt something like a magnetic pull that made her sway towards him and his hands came to her shoulders, gently gripping her.
"Lucy…"
She looked up at him, her eyes, which slowly dilated, half-lidded and watching him. She waited, wondering why he was taking so long.
"Kiss me," she said softly, her own hand gripping his elbow and urging him closer. Natsu leaned down, his lips just a hairsbreadth from hers, then he looked into her eyes for a short moment before he kissed her. His hands ran down, over her shoulders and pressed to her back, bringing her closer to him and into his chest. Lucy wrapped her hands around his neck, matching the movement of his mouth against hers and ran her fingers up through his hair.
She had always pictured it happening like this. It was uncanny that it had happened almost exactly as it had in the story, but it made her happy.
His hand ran down to her waist, then slid up beneath the fabric of her top.
Something pressed to her neck and she jumped then. Everything was a haze. Natsu wasn't in front of her. She wasn't kissing him. She was drooling, on the papers and Natsu was crouched in front her, his hand at her neck, where his finger had poked her.
She jumped back quickly, screaming in surprise and reached for a book, throwing it in his face. Natsu groaned and cupped his face. "What the hell is wrong with you, Lucy?"
"What is wrong with you?! What are you doing here?"
"You told me to come. So I could read your story."
She had gathered most of her bearings, no longer disoriented as she glared at him. She had said that earlier today, hadn't she? When exactly had she fallen asleep? She rubbed at her eyes then wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. She looked to the papers. An irregular stain of drool was on the top leaf, and no doubt it had soaked through on some of the pages beneath. She groaned inwardly.
"You can't read it now."
"That's obvious." He was looking at the drool then looked at her. "Oh, and who were you telling to kiss you?"
Her eyes widened as images of her dream came back to her. "That's none of your business! Tomorrow I'll give the story to you. I'm tired so leave!"
Natsu sighed as he was shoved through the door, and out her room. He could never understand Lucy, but that was one of the reasons he liked her.
On the other side of the closed door, Lucy pressed her forehead to the mahogany surface and closed her eyes.
Why had it just been a dream?
O.o.O.o