Episode 5: In which there is pure, unadulterated fluff.

When she painted, she tied her hair back in a bun to keep it from falling forward onto the canvas. Old jeans and a paint-splattered t-shirt, dirty sneakers, a smudge of color on her cheek. Somehow, if it was Lucy, even the messy act of painting could become elegant.

Paintbrush her hand, she pulled it in smooth strokes across the canvas under harsh fluorescent lights. A mixture of cerulean and celadon tangled on the canvas, blending under her skilled hands until they danced with life. She let out a long breath. She was gonna throw up.

She nearly did throw up at the sound of the door swinging open with a loud bang.

"Hey, Lucy!"

She groggily turned toward the door. "Natsu? What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here. Hurry up and put everything away."

"I'm not done yet," she said. That much had to be obvious. While she'd gotten most of the large areas of color in, she was having trouble on the details. The painting was still obviously unfinished.

"Phew, it smells something awful in here. Don't you have the vents on?"

"Of course," Lucy said. "Do you think I have a death wish?"

"You have to, staying in a closed windowless room when the fumes are this bad."

"It's really that bad? I don't smell anything."

"Trust me, it's awful in here," Natsu said. "Are you sure it's properly ventilated?"

Lucy looked up at the vents that were supposed to clear out the fumes from oil paints. They were definitely running, but if it was really as bad as Natsu said it was, that could explain why she felt so nauseous.

"Maybe they're not working properly," she wondered.

"Anyway, hurry and pack your things. I'm getting you out of here."

"But it's due in two days and I still haven't—"

"If you don't stop what you're doing, I'm going to tell Erza about the cake incident."

Lucy paled a little. He seemed serious. "Fine, fine, I'm cleaning up," she said, closing up her paints. She picked up her brushes and went to the sink to get them cleaned out. "Happy now?"

Natsu sat on the floor and smiled up at her in that childlike way of his. "Very."

After she'd gotten the paint out of her brushes and packed up all her supplies, Natsu hauled her out of the art building without even giving her a chance to talk to management about ventilation concerns.

"You smell, Lucy," he said from behind her, one hand on each shoulder as he steered her toward her apartment.

"Thanks," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can walk on my own, you know."

"Nope, I gotta make sure you go home. You smell like paint. And that thing you used to clean the brushes smelled too."

"The paint thinner? Well yeah, it's a toxic chemical."

"Why don't you use normal paints?"

"You mean water-based paints? I can't always stick to watercolors and acrylics; if I want to become an art professor, I'll need to be comfortable with different materials."

"That's stupid."

"That's life."

He kept his hands on her shoulders steering her the whole way to her apartment, bouncing impatiently on his toes as she fished for her keys. As soon as they got inside, he shoved her into the bathroom and closed the door.

"I'll bring you a towel and clothes so hurry up and shower."

"I already have a towel in here, and I don't even want to think of what atrocious outfits you'd come up with, but thanks anyway," she said.

"If you say so," came his voice from the other side of the door. "Take your time. Don't faint."

"I won't." The fresh air had cleansed her of all wooziness, and she felt better already. But now that she was back in a closed space, she could smell the oils in her clothes. Natsu was right; she really did need to shower.

She spent a long time in the shower. She didn't know the last time she'd washed herself — was it yesterday, or two days ago? Or three? She'd lost track of time somewhere in the frenzy of finishing all her final projects.

Feeling much refreshed, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with her favorite fluffy towel. She wrapped it around her torso, holding it in place with her arms clamped to her sides, and cracked the bathroom door open.

Natsu heard the squeak of the door swinging open and ran from wherever he was. "You're done!" he said, shoving a bundle of clothing into her arms. "Here, get changed into this."

Lucy looked down at the clothes in her arms. "Natsu, this is a dress. I can't paint in this."

"That's because you're not gonna paint."

"But it's due in—"

"My project's due too, and you don't see me working on it right now, do you? I said I'm getting you out of there, and I mean it. We're taking a break."

"Natsu, I really don't have the time for this," Lucy said. She felt bad, but her grades were important to her, and she needed to finish that painting even if it killed her. His idea was sweet, but she couldn't do it.

"Lucy Heartfilia." Natsu's face turned dark, his eyebrows scrunched and his lips in the pout he used when he was trying to be taken seriously. Lucy gulped. He didn't use her full name often, and it was usually followed by a threat. "If you don't take a break, I will personally make sure that Erza knows every. last. detail. about the cake incident, and I'll tell Gray about the time you borrowed his boxers."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Lucy looked doubtfully at the clothes he'd given her. It was just a dress, so there was nothing that could be mismatched. He'd even brought her clean underwear. There was nothing she could protest against, especially not after those threats.

"Why do you want me to go out so bad?" Lucy said quietly. He had his own finals to worry about, and he was going through all this effort to interrupt her work.

"Lucy, you've been holed up in that stuffy studio for days. You've barely been eating. Erza said you never went home last night. And honestly, you look so tense you might snap any moment. I'd tell you to sleep it off, but I know you'll end up lying awake worrying for hours, so I'm taking you out for a little stress-relief."

"But you have your own finals and—"

"Lucy."

She pouted. "Fine. Thanks."

"Now hurry up and get changed. I made lunch reservations."

"It's already lunchtime?" she said, pulling out her phone to check the time. Sure enough, it was almost noon. "Wow, where did the time go?"

"Don't worry, I got this all planned out. It'll be fun."

"I wasn't worried about that. With you, it's always fun."

He grinned. "Then come on. Let's go!"

"Okay!"

She changed into the dress Natsu'd picked out — Lucy wondered if he knew it was her favorite — and followed him out the door. They took the bus to the new Thai restaurant that opened in the shopping district, the one Lucy had once mentioned she wanted to try. Natsu really did take note of everything.

After a delicious lunch, they did some window-shopping on their way down to the waterfront. Lucy balanced on the low wall that divided the footpath from the canal, Natsu following alongside her in the grass.

"So," she said, "what's the plan for dinner?"

"Already thinking about dinner?" he said, his voice taking on a teasing tone.

"What? I'm just curious. You said you had the whole day planned out."

"When we get to the end of the canal, we're gonna hang out in the park and have a picnic."

"Is that what the blanket's for?" she said, gesturing to the fabric peeking out of the large backpack he brought with him.

He nodded. "We're gonna order takeout when we get hungry, and then for dessert we'll get waffles from that place nearby. You can nap if you want. Or people-watch. Or just talk, or whatever. You seem to like doing quiet things, so I thought you'd like that."

"I do," she said, jumping down to give him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks."

"Actually it was Levy's idea. She was gonna come too, but she messed up a measurement and had to go out to get more cardboard," Natsu said.

"Well, spending time with just the two of us is fun too."

"You're not sick of me yet?"

"You're treating me to food, so I think I'll let you stick around a little longer."

"Hmm, is that so? I was planning on each of us paying our own share, actually."

"Guess I'm sick of you then."

"Damn."

After spending an hour or two chatting and people-watching while eating takeout Chinese food, they got the waffle shop's specialty: a warm waffled folded in half around a scoop of ice cream. Lucy got her typical chocolate, and Natsu went for green tea. Full and satisfied, they headed home to Natsu's place before it got dark and watched a movie that ended with the two of them cuddling together on the couch long after the credits were over.

A hand absently stroked her hair, tucking a stray strand behind her ear. "Feeling better?"

"Lots," she said, snuggling more comfortably into his side.

"Good," he said, placing an affectionate kiss on the top of her head. "Your painting looks great already so you'll finish it in no time."

"It's barely halfway done, but I appreciate the sentiment." Lucy laughed. "Thanks for taking me out today, though. Regardless of how much more time I need on that thing, getting away for a day did me good, I think."

"I also saved you from passing out in that smelly room."

Lucy sat up suddenly. "The vents! I needed to talk to the office about that!"

"Relax," Natsu said, pulling her back down. "I already told Levy to get someone to look into it. She said it was a small electrical issue and they fixed it up quick 'cause it was dangerous."

"Honestly, what would I do without you?"

A key turned in the front door and Gray came in. He paused for a moment when he saw the two of them on the couch, then closed the door behind himself.

"What are you love bugs up to?" he teased, shedding his jacket.

"Wanna join the cuddle pile?" Lucy said.

"Don't mind if I do," he said, plopping himself down on Lucy's other side and wrapping his arms around her middle. "I hate finals," he said, voice muffled by Lucy's shirt.

"What were you up to today?" Natsu asked.

"What do you think? Coding my website. Hey, how far along are you? I feel like I'm going too slow to get it done in time.'

"Well I just spent my day hanging out with Lucy so I'm probably in worse shape," Natsu said. "But we both needed the break so it was worth it."

"So that's what you two were up to. I was wondering what Lucy was doing here after spending the last couple days holed up in that awful studio room," Gray said. "Good on you for getting her out of there."

"Jeez, was everybody that worried about me?"

"Yes," the men chorused.

"Gah, no, Happy," Gray complained as the cat walked up his side and over Lucy into Natsu's lap.

"Happy wanted to cuddle too," Lucy giggled.

"It is cozy here," Gray said.

"And I'm the coziest, surrounded by two soft human pillows," Lucy said.

"You're pretty soft yourself," Gray said.

Natsu lifted the arm that was around Lucy's shoulders to knock Gray's head.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!"

"No sexual harassment in the cuddle pile," Natsu ordered.

"I meant in general, not her boobs, you perv. I'm not even touching them."

"Neither of you are touching my boobs, and it is going to stay that way," Lucy snapped. "Thank you, Gray. I'm glad I am a comfortable pillow. Natsu, stop using me as an excuse to hit Gray for no reason."

"Dammit, Lucy."

"You're too transparent," Lucy said. "Find a better excuse next time. Andnot while we're in the cuddle pile."

"Fine, fine."

"Yeah, Natsu, no hitting people in the cuddle pile."

"Lucy already said that. Now who's the one looking for an excuse to fight?"

"If both of you don't shut up, I'm declaring this cuddle pile over."

"Noooo," Natsu whined, snuggling his face into her hair while Gray tightened his embrace. Lucy was effectively trapped; even if she did want to end the cuddle pile, it would be impossible at this point. Who could resist these two?

"Actually," Gray said, extracting himself from the three-way embrace, "I really wanted to shower when I got back, so I'm gonna go do that now. You two don't get up to any funny business while I'm gone, all right?"

"Yes, Mom," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

They listened in silence to the sounds of Gray shuffling around in his room, and then the spray of the shower hissed in the background. It was a pleasant quietness that throbbed to the beat of Natsu's heart.

"Cozy?" Natsu said, the deeper tones rumbling loudly in Lucy's ears. She loved listening the sound of someone's voice through their chest. It was a warm and intimate sound.

"Quite," she said.

"Think you'll get your painting done on time?"

"Did you say I'll be fine for sure and that it looks great?"

"That's just my opinion. I'm asking about you."

"I'm nervous, especially since I wasted a whole day, but I think I'll be able to go back refreshed and get a lot done. And all my other classes I'm not worried about."

"Good. Then today wasn't a waste."

"How could spending an entire day with you ever be a waste?" she said, grinning up at him. "How about you?"

"My finals? Eh, I'll be fine. For the website, the professor seems to like my design so it's just a matter of finishing the markup, which is time-consuming but not too hard. My app…let's not talk about that one."

Lucy giggled. "C's get degrees," she quipped.

"God, I hope so."

She reached down to absently scratch Happy, causing him to erupt into violent purring. He stretched out, exposing more of his neck and stomach for Lucy to scratch. Natsu squirmed a little at the movement, but they soon found a comfortable position to accommodate all three of them, man, woman, and cat.

Sometime during this idyllic domestic scene, Lucy began to drift off to sleep. Natsu was right; she'd needed this. And badly. But she could thank him for it later; for now, sleep.