Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail or any of it's characters
Natsu stood outside Lucy's door, a bag of lemons in his hand, and knocked. After a day with Gray over at Elfman's boxing gym, all his tension over Lucy's mysterious visitor was gone. Also being able to beat Gray in a sparring match always put him in a good mood.
Lucy opened the door and her beautiful smile felt like warm summer sunshine despite the chill of the cold December night. It took all his self-control not to grab her, push her up against the display case and kiss her senseless. Instead he pushed those thoughts deep down inside and gave her a large grin, holding up his purchase, "I hope these will do."
"Perfect!" she said, taking the bag and moving aside to let him in. After she locked the door, she turned around to face him and looked slightly embarrassed, cheeks red; staring at the bag of lemons now in her hands. "Although, I have a small confession to make," she said quietly.
"Yea? What's that Lucy?" he asked.
She looked up at him and smiled sweetly, "I didn't actually drop a pie. I was just sad to miss our time together, so it was the first thing that I could think of to make sure you would have to come by a little bit earlier than usual."
"Oh," Natsu looked at her, eyes wide. She had wanted to see him; she wanted more time with him! He was afraid to move or say anything more, she just looked so adorable staring up at him and the way she was biting her lip was driving him crazy.
"Sorry it was very silly of me. I shouldn't have sent you on an errand I didn't need," her cheeks reddened and she looked at her toes.
Natsu shook himself out of his stupor, realizing she was taking his silence as a sign that she did something wrong. He reached out and lifted her chin so that she would look at him and he gave her a grin, "Don't worry Luce, I really didn't mind. But you could have just asked me to come earlier. It's always fun spending time with you, I like being here."
She smiled again and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the back room. "You're the best Natsu, I'll remember that next time. Come on back! It's not really fancy but I have a couple bowls of chili and some cornbread for us to have for dinner. Chili's always so nice on these cold days don't you think?"
"Yea," Natsu agreed softly. He followed her to the back, enjoying the feeling of her small soft hand in his. He watched the way she walked and how her golden ponytail swayed with the motion of her body. He needed to get ahold of himself, she was going to think he was some kind of pervert, but he couldn't get his brain to go anywhere else.
She motioned for him to take a seat over on the stool she typically set out for him, near one of the lesser used stainless steel tables. Natsu was grateful for the distance she put between them. He sat and watched as she wandered over to the other side of a table and picked up one of the bags of colored chocolates she used to decorate her shortbreads. "I still have to get this order finished up real quick, but please don't worry about waiting for me. Go ahead and eat, tell me if you like it. I've started having a few soups for people to have for lunch here; I hope it will help bring in some people after the Christmas season is over."
"Alright then," Natsu welcomed the distraction of the delicious smelling bowl in front of him. He took a bite and said "This is so good Luce! I gonna get fat because of you," he grinned big, patting his flat stomach.
Lucy gave an unladylike snort, "Like that's even possible. If I ate everything you ate the last couple weeks I would have gain like ten pounds. I don't know where you put it all."
"Good genes I guess," he said, giving her a wink, picking up his spoon once more.
Lucy laughed, "Of course Natsu." She retied her bandana and washed her hands as she waited for her chocolate to reheat in the microwave. When it finished she quickly moved from cookie to cookie. Adding green to trees, wreaths, presents, and ornaments with graceful quick movements. It was like watching her dance, her body swaying ever so slightly, her brow furrowed in concentration. Natsu knew he had it bad if watching her decorate shortbreads was turning him on. He rubbed his face trying to stop the thoughts that polluted his brain. He looked up at the lemons on the counter and it brought him back to earlier that day. He couldn't help but ask "So who was that guy earlier today? He seemed to be bothering you." What he didn't add was and it made me want to punch him in the face.
"Oh, that was just Loke." Lucy frowned and Natsu found himself regretting bringing it up. He preferred to be the one to make her smile. Lucy poured some red chocolate disks from a box below her table into a bag and threw it in the microwave. She turned to face him and played with her jacket. "His family is friends with mine so we've known each other since we were young. Also we used to date in high school."
Natsu felt like he had been doused with cold water, rich and a friend of the family, former boyfriend. What else could that prick have going for him?
Lucy's chocolate was finished. She pulled it out and pressed all over the bag to make sure all the bits and pieces were melted and smooth. She didn't look at him as she walked back over to her cookies, her face twisted in a look of anger. She cut off the end of the bag and went back to decorating the sheets of cutouts in front of her. It was such a long pause that Natsu thought that was all she was going to tell him when she suddenly added bitterly, "Everyone thought we would end up together, but let's just say he couldn't keep it in his pants." Flinching at the sharpness of her tone, Natsu looked up and studied her. Lucy's movements had become slightly more abrupt, less of the sway there was before. Loke must have really hurt her, it made Natsu feel so angry that he couldn't help but clench a fist.
Lucy sighed and continued,"Loke was two years ahead of me and went off to college. I came in one weekend to surprise him and I was the one surprised when he answered his door half naked with a girl searching for her clothes in his room. I found out from a friend that he had been doing that to me for years, I felt like such an idiot." Natsu thought Loke was the idiot to give up something that good. If Lucy would be his, he would never let her go. Now the man's behavior and Lucy's reactions from this morning made much more sense.
"I'll admit, I was weak and I thought I could forgive him. We got back together for a month during the summer after my first year of culinary school. We were out to lunch at a café one afternoon and this girl came out of nowhere and intimately covered his eyes asking 'Guess who?' He sent her away, adamantly claiming he hadn't seen her in almost a year and that now it was only me and would always be only me. Though he said that she was nothing to him, it had made me realize that I couldn't be with him. I just didn't trust him anymore and I don't think I ever will." She chuckled sadly, "It doesn't stop him from coming around every now and then, and trying to convince me to give him one more chance."
She looked so heartbreaking standing there that Natsu couldn't sit any longer. He walked towards her, when Lucy turned to him he pulled her into his arms. His heart gave a squeeze at the feeling of her hugging him back and burying her head into head chest. "He was the idiot, not you Luce." Natsu's body was screaming for him to do more but he restrained himself, knowing this wasn't the time or the place. He settled for resting his head gently on hers, but the smell of her was intoxicating. He pushed away gently, afraid to hold her any longer. She smiled up at him, completely unaware, and said, "Thanks Natsu."
He retreated back to his corner of the room. "Let's talk about happier things. What are you doing for your vacation?" he asked, knowing Lucy was planning to close for a week, just like Levy.
"Well, I'll be having dinner with my dad for Christmas. I'm not exactly excited about it, but I can't blow him off on the holidays. So it will be a pleasant evening of him insulting my life choices," she gave a weak smile. "Then I guess I'll spend the rest of the week writing and giving this place a good deep clean."
Natsu made a face as he sat back at his seat. "Well that doesn't sound very fun. "
Lucy smiled, but kept her eyes on her cookies, "The writing is fun for me. It's okay really; it will be nice to not have to get up at three anymore and to be able to stay up past ten for once."
"You should come to Mira's New Year's party with me," he ventured, hoping she couldn't tell how desperately he wanted her to say yes.
She looked up at him, her eyes sparkled as she said "I'd love to!"
Natsu smiled, "it's a date then."
Levy woke the next morning determined to have a great Christmas. She took a shower and tried not to think about Gajeel. She ate breakfast and tried not to think about Gajeel. She tidied the apartment and tried not to think about Gajeel. She wrapped her friends' presents and tried not to think about Gajeel. No matter what she did though, she couldn't help but think of Gajeel! After looking at his gift over and over again, she grabbed it and hid it in the oven. She was not going to let this get her down!
Levy was feeling pretty proud of herself when she looked in the mirror before heading over to Jet and Droy's. Despite her sadness, she looked great. That evening, dinner was great as usual due to Droy's diligence in the kitchen, and the company was exactly what she needed. She couldn't remember the last time they had been together just the three of them. Droy's flower business was booming and he was now engaged. Jet had started dating a fellow marathoner and was coaching track at the high school along with running his sporting goods store. All three of them had come so far from the children they had been.
But eventually the night was over and she had to head home. She tossed her keys and bag on the counter and walked into the kitchen, turning on her kettle to make a cup of tea. Levy stared at the oven, curiosity starting to win over her pride. She opened the door and pulled out the newspaper wrapped package. She opened the card attached to the front. Written on a plain stationary card in sloppy handwriting it said "To my favorite shrimp. Merry Christmas. Gajeel."
She peeled open the paper and it revealed a plain white box. She pulled it open and inside found a 3D image created by different strips of metal and wire, bent and twisted. She held it out in front of her and it revealed a book with its page's open. Out of it grew trees and flowers and vines, all curled and contorted in a way that gave it a pleasingly aesthetic appeal. It was extremely detailed and beautiful; it must have taken him forever. It was all attached to a piece of steel in which he had engraved "A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.-Chinese Proverb." She absolutely adored it! Levy pulled open a drawer and searched hurriedly for a nail. She went over to the wall near her chaise and unable to find anything else to use, picked up her cell phone and hammered the nail into the drywall. She hung his art work and stood back admiring it.
As if on cue, there was a knock at her door. She wandered over to the door, she wasn't expecting anyone tonight and it was already ten o'clock, hardly the time for unexpected visitors. She looked in the peephole and saw a large bush of black hair. Should she open the door for him? Had she summoned Gajeel by opening his gift? It was as if he hurried over when he heard her hang it on the wall!
Still feeling in a good mood from his thoughtful present, Levy opened the door. "Gajeel?"
"Hey Shorty, can I come in?" he asked.
"Sure," she said quietly, unable to think of a reason for him not to. She was too curious about what he would have to say, and she missed him so much that just the fact that he was trying seemed like enough of a motive to let him in. She moved aside so that he could get through the door.
He strode into her home with purpose then stopped suddenly when he saw his metal piece on the wall. "You opened it," he breathed out, so quietly Levy barely heard him.
"Umm . . . yea," she walked over so she stood right next to him. "I love it."
"Yea it's not great; I couldn't get that one flower right, it was really pissing me off," he started to walk towards it. "You know, maybe I should take it back and fix that."
Levy grabbed his arm, "Don't you dare! Are you hard of hearing? I said I love it. You leave that right where I put it, it's beautiful."
"Hmmph," Gajeel turned back to her, "If you say so shrimp."
"Gajeel why are you here?" Levy asked, tired of his stalling.
"I need to take back that apology," he said, scratching his head and looking at his boots.
"What?" Levy swore to herself that if he said something awful again about their night together she was going to kill him. She let go of his arm and crossed hers protectively across her chest.
"I've been thinking about our conversation and I tried to apologize the way I thought you wanted me to. Then after what you said yesterday I realized that wasn't what you wanted from me at all," he took a step closer to her. "So I'm not sorry I touched you like that, I've been wanting to touch you like that since I first met you. I just never did anything because I thought a smart, pretty girl like you would never want to be dirtied from the hands of a dumb, metal head like me."
"You aren't dumb," she started.
"Shrimp let me finish," he held a finger to her lips and moved another step closer to her. "I'm sorry I touched you when I was too drunk to remember it all. I woke up next to you thinking you must have had too much to drink like me, or even worse, I forced you, and it killed me. I just felt so ashamed and guilty, and every time I saw you or heard your voice it was like I was getting flashbacks to the few pieces I have left of that night. "
He moved another step closer, so that he was standing practically on top of her. She looked straight up at him, unable to look away from his gaze. He spoke in a muted rumble now, "You see Shorty, I can't stop thinking about you. Your soft skin, your soft hair, your soft lips, I just want to bury myself in that softness and I worried if I was near you I wouldn't be able to stop myself." He gently cupped the sides of her face and bent so that his lips were right next to hers, "One word Levy, just one word from you and I'll leave. I'll disappear for you if you tell me to. But if, as I hope, you don't want me to go . . . . "
Levy stared up at him unable to say a word, completely frozen in the moment. Her mouth open and her crossed arms melting apart to her sides.
"Damn, you don't know what you do to me. You're so damn beautiful," he growled and his mouth came crashing down on hers. He tasted of mint, this time not a bit of alcohol on his breath. She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of his firm lips on hers.
Levy laughed, "I missed you," she felt so light and happy for the first time in months.
"Gihihi, I missed you too Shorty," he grinned and kissed her deeply on the mouth.
It was the day after Christmas and Lucy was bored. She had spent the morning working on her novel but, after two hours straight of writing, she found she had hit major writers block. Lucy tried cleaning the house, then catching up on some shows, but inspiration had not returned. There was no way she was going to go clean at the bakery today, after spending around eighteen hours a day there for so long, she needed a few days off.
She decided she would see if Levy was up for hanging out. She hadn't seen her since their coffee the day before Christmas Eve. She picked up her phone and sent her a text, "want to do something today?"
Her phone pinged back, "Go away, Levy's busy."
Lucy read it a couple times, what the hell was that?
Her phone pinged again, "Sorry Lu, Gajeel's here. He's stupid. I'll see ya at the new years party k?"
Lucy grimaced. The New Year's party wasn't for another five days! She guessed that meant Gajeel and Levy were no longer fighting. She sighed and sat back on her couch. This was great news for Levy but not so good news for Lucy's time off. She stared at her phone and knew who she was going to text next. After all he had said he liked spending time with her right? Would it seem weird to text today if they had plans on New Year's? Bored out of her mind, she decided it was worth it. If he didn't want to see her before a date five days from now, then he wasn't worth her time anyway. She sent a text to Natsu and then threw her phone on the couch. Lucy was determined that she wasn't going to watch it waiting for a reply; she would do something else instead. She might want to see him, but it wasn't like she was obsessed or anything. She went to go clean out the fridge.
Natsu looked up at the large looming mansion then banged his head on the steering wheel. Why did Laxus say yes to that woman! It was the day after Christmas and Jenny had insisted she needed her closet redone. As usual, only Natsu would be capable of doing it right. He wouldn't have even come if Laxus hadn't threatened him bodily harm.
Before he wouldn't have thought twice about going to a job over here, but after what Gray had said on the last job Natsu had a revelation, this crazy woman was all over him every time she had a job. Not to mention she always insisted he be the one to plan it and most of the jobs involved the kind of work he specialized in. At this point he was pretty sure he had done all the floors in all three houses, changed out all the trim, redid most of the cabinets, hell he even built her a damn spiral stair case. And now she couldn't wait until after the holidays to have her closet looked at? It was just weird.
Natsu took a deep breath and headed to the front door. After he knocked the door swung open and Jenny was standing there, dressed like she was going to a party. Her hair and makeup were perfect and her dress seemed way too fancy for the time of day and she was wearing extremely high heels. Natsu told himself that was probably just what wealthy women wore during the day. Of course; she wasn't dressing up for him, Gray was just getting in his head. He wondered if Lucy would have dressed like that if she was still with Loke right now.
Jenny led Natsu up to her bedroom and showed him which one of her three walk-in closets she wanted redone. "I'm so glad you were able to come out Natsu! Christmas was so good to me but there is no way my current closet setup is going to work. I want to fix up the big one; right now it just has hang bars. I would like if we could put in a wall of shoe shelves and then hang bars at different levels, and maybe some shelves for the sweaters."
Natsu walked into the space. It was larger than his bedroom! He tried not to look amazed as he pulled out a measuring tape. "That sounds great Jenny. I'll just take some measurements. Then I can draw up a couple of closet configurations for you to choose between."
"You're the best Natsu, I can always count on you," came Jenny's voice from the bedroom, "Can you believe my husband is already away on business! It's the day after Christmas and he goes back to work!"
You seem to have no problem making me work today, Natsu thought bitterly as he wrote down a measurement in the small notebook he kept in his back pocket. "Oh no, that's terrible!" he patronized, hoping he sounded a little bit convincing.
"It just makes me so mad you know, like I'm just supposed to wait around until Hibiki feels like playing husband again," Jenny's voice went on. "Well I'm not going to put up with it anymore. I have needs too!"
Natsu rolled his eyes; this was the craziest Jenny yet. He finished measuring the closet and put his tape and notebook back in his pocket, the pencil back behind his ear.
"Hey Jenny, I'm finished taking measurements," he said stepping into the bedroom. "I'll get back to you with some design options after New Year's. I hope that wo . . ." Natsu stopped talking when he looked up and saw Jenny on the bed, wearing a sexy lingerie.
"Let's show Hibiki what happens when he ignores me," Jenny said seductively.
"By redoing your closet?" Natsu asked, really hoping he was misinterpreting the situation. Maybe rich woman just liked wearing lingerie in the afternoon . . . when they had contractors over. He looked around the room thinking surely someone was messing with him. It was as if he had stepped into one of those movies he found in Makarov's basement as a teenager. Funny, he never thought these things happened in real life.
Jenny laughed flirtatiously, "Oh Natsu, you're so dense! I love it!" She changed position as if she was posing for spread in Maxim. Natsu puffed out his cheeked praying for something, anything to save him from this awkward situation. Then his phone alerted him that he had a text message.
Thank god! He thought. "Sorry Jenny, I just gotta check that." He pulled out a phone and saw a text from Lucy asking what he was up to. "Oh no! Gray's had an accident! I've got to go!" Natsu gave Jenny an awkward salute and ran out the door. "I'll send you the plans when I finish them!" he called back, ignoring her pleas to wait. He didn't slow his pace until he was in his truck and turning on the engine.
He drove around the block and pulled over on the side of the road. "Well that was awkward," he said to himself, breathing a sigh of relief. Laxus or Gajeel was going to have to finish that job, there was no way he was going back. He looked at Lucy's text again on the screen of his phone, a smile growing on his face. Then he typed back, "I'm up for doing whatever you want to Luce, you just saved my butt!" Without waiting for a reply, he pulled back on the road and headed towards Lucy's apartment.