Note: Does not have too much referencing to colors.

Sunshine.

When he became conscious once again, he could see sun rays shining through his eyelids. Groaning from the light, he kept his eyes squeezed shut and used his arm to block the sunshine. As he moved his arm however, he felt something warm brush his elbow and he stopped. Opening his eyes, he turned to see Lucy sleeping soundly beside him. He had snuck into her bed again that night without realizing it. But he couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. After all, they were best friends. Surely, she wouldn't mind if he slept with her once in a while. Plus, her bed was just so comfortable.

Thinking he should leave before he got caught, he silently pushed himself off the bed and crept towards the door. Lucy stirred. He, obviously, whipped his head back. If she really was waking up, he would have to make a run for it. Fortunately for him, she turned to her side, but she was still asleep. Unfortunately, she was now facing him and he couldn't resist staring. She just looked so peaceful in her slumber. She had a light expression, including a small smile, and her long hair cascaded down the sides of her face. Slowly, but still quietly, he edged back towards her. He knelt down beside her bed as he studied her and an odd feeling rose up in his chest.

Frowning at the new and mysterious sensation, he stopped staring at her and looked down at his chest. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. He certainly didn't just get stabbed. But then again, getting stabbed wouldn't give him such a nice feeling anyway. He looked up at the ceiling. The strange feeling was slowly fading away and he almost called out for it to come back, but of course, feelings cannot be commanded. As he snapped out of his thoughts, he realized he was unconsciously toying with Lucy's hair. His fingers were in mid-twirl with the blonde hair when he stopped himself and let her sunshine-colored hair fall back onto her bed. Embarrassed, he felt his face heat up and the strange feeling returned. He looked at Lucy again. She was still sleeping, but looked a little more content. Strange, he thought. She must be having a really nice dream. He smiled at that thought and decided to go back to bed with her. He would have to wake up before her later on to escape her wrath, but meanwhile, he wanted to have some nice dreams too.

By the time he woke up, Lucy was already gone, which was quite surprising considering he thought she would explode once she saw him sleeping next to her. Maybe she didn't mind after all or maybe she would just yell at him later. He yawned and did a quick stretch as he got off the bed. It really was a comfortable bed. He had to admit he slept like a baby and he always will on a bed that comfy. Sighing contently, he made his way downstairs to greet the blonde, but she wasn't there. Automatically thinking she was at the guild, he made his way to her kitchen. There, on the counter, another surprise awaited him. He walked closer, took a big whiff of the food, and began drooling instantly. To be honest, he wasn't very sure what the food was, but Lucy had already prepared it and it smelt pretty nice, so he decided to chow down. He took the plate in his hands and was about to gobble up the entire thing until he realized there was a lighter placed on the counter as well. Ah, he thought. Lucy knows me so well. Without further ado, he lit his meal on fire and ate it happily.

When he got to the guild, he was in for another surprise. Man, there were plenty of surprises that day. When he arrived, he started searching for Lucy immediately. After all, he wanted to thank her for the meal... and for not killing him for sleeping in her bed with her. Soon enough though, other members were already filling him in on the fact that, in fact, Lucy had left already. When he asked where she went, all the answers he got were the same: "She's on a mission." His own questions ran through his mind. But why would she go on a mission without the rest of team Natsu? Did the rest of the team know about that? But most importantly, why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she go with me? Feeling rather depressed and angry, he made his way back to her home. The sun was still beaming intensely and instantly, he was reminded of the blonde. Her hair was as golden as the sun and her smile shone just as bright. He felt the strange feeling again. And he was reminded of that morning's dreams. When he had fallen back asleep, he had dreamt of her. He dreamt of his fingers twirling her hair again; her soft, silky hair. He dreamt of running his hands through its entire length; combing it so that it was straight and neat. It was a blanket of sunshine that flowed down her back. Truthfully, he didn't mean to dream about her hair, it was just that her hair was so beautiful. She was beautiful. And in more ways than one. Her appearance was the first. Her personality the second. Both were important. Both made her... her. For good or for bad, depending on how you look at it, he spent the rest of the day at Lucy's home, thinking about her and only her.

Contradictory to what was said earlier; he won't always sleep like a baby on the blonde's very comfortable bed. The previous night, while waiting for her return, he could not seem to sleep. His mind was too awake, too alert. He just couldn't stop thinking about her safety. She had gone to complete a mission on her own and sure, she had her spirits, but they couldn't watch over her without draining her magic. It took him hours to fall asleep and even then, he only slept just as long. He awoke at the break of dawn. He checked the house for her presence first before returning to her room and sitting back on the bed. He looked out the window longingly. He was being awfully protective and worried about Lucy, which was quite odd. The strange feeling had been welling up inside him since he came back from the guild the previous day and frankly, it was getting overwhelming. It was as if it was trying to tell him something, but he continued to ignore it. He watched as the first of the sun's rays came from under the horizon and grew stronger until the sun itself peeked out, reminding him of Lucy. Knowing that it would take forever for him to fall asleep again, he decided to go for a walk.

It was another cloudless day. The night sky was barely visible by the time he got outside. There weren't many people out yet, so he was glad he could take a quiet, peaceful walk to sort out his thoughts. He had bumped into a couple of early-bird guild members, but only gave them a greeting before walking off again. He sighed tiredly. What was that strange feeling trying to tell him? He had enough of thinking and guessing, he just wanted to know. He kicked a rock in frustration and was shocked to hear a scream. Looking in the direction he kicked the stone in, he realized it hit the last person he would have thought of: Lucy. He ran up to her with incredible speed and knocked her over with a giant, tight hug.

"LUCY!"

"N-Natsu!" She stammered, hesitating before she hugged him back. "What was that for?"

Natsu moved his hands to grip her shoulders as he pulled back and studied her face just as he did the previous morning. The strange feeling surged with a vengeance from being ignored for so long and at that moment, he knew what it was trying to say. "Lucy, what do you think of me?"

Lucy blushed at the proximity of their faces and at his question. "W-What?"

"What do you think of me?" He repeated, his voice and eyes showing off his determination for an answer.

"I think you're a really good friend. We've been friends for ages now, after all." She replied, voice quavering here and there.

Natsu's grip loosened a little as slight disappointment flashed across his features. "Is that it?"

Biting her lip at Natsu's sudden change in attitude, Lucy spoke up. "You're my best friend."

"What else?" Natsu said, voice getting softer.

Lucy's eyes widened when she realized what he was trying to urge out of her. "N-Natsu!"

"What. Else." He repeated, enunciating every syllable. His grip on her shoulders tightened again.

"You're my teammate." She said quietly, looking away from his gaze.

"What else?" He whispered it desperately, wishing to hear the answer he wanted.

Lucy wavered, taking a shaky breath and lowering her eyelids. "You're my partner, my other half, my soul mate, the one I can never leave, and the one I can survive without, but cannot live without."

The strange feeling in his chest flowed through his body and he knew, he just knew what he had to say. He had to say it. Either now or never.

"I love you."

He pulled her against his chest and gave her a squeeze. "It took me a long time to realize it, but I do. I do... I love you a lot."

Lucy leaned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you just as much, because we're both halves that make a whole; two loves that form an everlasting love."

He buried his face in her hair; her soft sunshine hair, and pulled back slightly. He moved back just enough so that his face was in front of hers, leaned in, and kissed her right on the lips.

As the moment ended for the pair, they realized that there were many more on their way to begin.