Hey guys! So sorry for the late update (and for leaving you in such suspense). Just moved to a new apartment and UGH. Unpacking= Utter misery. Anyways, thank you guys so much for all the reviews and follows and favorites! This story has, like, exploded in the last few chapters! I got so many reviews for the last chapter that I couldn't respond to them individually. But I read every single one, and I seriously love you guys for writing them.
Kairrie asked where I got the inspiration for this story. It was actually from a tumblr prompt. It was "I just got turned into a succubus and I'm like the least smooth and most self-conscious person on the planet so I'm literally starving because I don't know how to seduce people." I immediately thought of all of Lucy's failed seduction attempts, and soon enough the idea weaved its way into a full-blown story. Needless to say, I ran with it. For any aspiring writers that are in need of story inspiration, tumblr prompts are seriously awesome.
I'm so glad you guys have enjoyed it so far, and I hope you continue to enjoy it! This chapter may excite some of you. ;)
"What," Natsu burst out, eyes disbelieving. "You can't be serious."
"I'm dead serious," Gray said, his eyes trained on Lucy. "You take the dare, or you're out."
Lucy made no response, her mind a whirlwind. Kissing Natsu? She couldn't deny that it sounded… good. The succubus side of her was starving. She'd been skittish all day due to her hunger, unable to focus or keep herself from fantasizing about a certain pink-haired SH. And now Gray had just handed her the perfect excuse to inspect that sailor's mouth for herself…
"I'll do it," Lucy murmured, voice dazed. She didn't realize the words had slipped out until everyone looked at her with startled eyes. And Natsu? His jaw had literally dropped. The heat that had been pooling in her stomach all day gradually made its way to her face. Dear Lord. Why in the hell did she say that out loud?
"I mean," Lucy stuttered, blushing furiously. Could Natsu hear her heart going out of control? Damn, he probably could. "If it's a dare and- You know what? Maybe, I mean, that actually probably isn't-"
"Sure," Natsu interrupted, Lucy's averted eyes snapping to his face. "I'm not afraid of a stupid dare," he insisted, although his crimson cheeks suggested otherwise.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed, pulse racing. "It's just a dare."
Mira narrowed her eyes, and Lucy knew that something about her own aura must've given her away. The others didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in the hilarity of the situation to pay attention to the storm of colors that were most likely going out of control in Lucy's aura.
"Kissing is MANLY," Elfman encouraged, clapping Natsu on the back and shoving him in Lucy's direction. Cana gave a drunken cheer, and soon enough the entire room was hollering and egging them on.
Natsu moved even closer, his fingertips brushing hers on the floor. She knew he could hear her heart beating a hundred miles an hour- he could hear her whisper at a crowded party from a hundred yards away, for God's sake. But it was different this time because it was a direct result of her preparing to kiss him. She was about to kiss Natsu.
"We don't have to if you don't wanna," he whispered, his lips so close they brushed hers as he spoke. She shivered.
"I," she paused, her brain unable to churn out a few basic words. I want to. "I'm fine with it."
Not one to bother with unnecessary words, Natsu wasted no time leaning forward to kiss her. Lucy panicked, trying to remember how to breathe- let alone how to kiss. The guys at the kissing booth had thought she was pretty good at it. But the guys at the kissing booth hadn't made her so damned nervous!
Her mind was in a million places at once, wondering if their torsos were too far apart and if she should do something with her hands. She was distraught, wondering how his lips could possibly be so warm and mind-numbing. Why was kissing Natsu so hard?
All too soon, he moved to pull away. It had only been about three seconds. A lingering peck- enough to satisfy the room of spectators. But not enough to satisfy Lucy.
The thought of those lips leaving hers ignited a spark in her gut. Before he could get too far away, she cupped his jaw to bring him back in closer. Brain finally kicking into gear, she relaxed her mouth and swept her tongue across his lower lip. That was what the kissing booth guy liked, right? She tried to work out some sort of strategy, attempting to make this kiss a good one. But all thought flew out the window when Natsu responded in like, sliding his tongue against hers and putting a hand on her waist.
Something warm and molten seeped into her bones, and this unbearable, tingly feeling sent her nerves into a frenzy. Lucy moaned against his mouth, the vibration only intensifying the buzz in her lips. She weaved her fingers up into his hair, tugging at it and making him groan. They got even closer, somehow, but it still wasn't enough. She needed it. Him, his body, these feelings. All of it. More. Now.
She was all over him. In the back of her mind, she knew that the succubus had taken over. But she couldn't bring herself to give a damn. It felt too good. Finally giving in and letting herself have something she wanted for once in her life. And Gods, she wanted Natsu. She wanted to have him served up to her on a silver platter, dressed in the same haze of lust that had taken a hold over her mind. But the whimpering sound Natsu made as her knuckles brushed the skin of his lower abdomen cut through the fog that had clouded her mind.
Lucy jerked back to find herself clenching Natsu's belt as if she were about to rip the damned thing off. She tore her hand away, shame flooding her body- but, unfortunately, not quite enough of it to overpower her persistent arousal. The pulse between her thighs was distracting, and her hunger threatened to take control again.
Lucy abruptly wrenched herself away from Natsu, realizing that a room full of shocked bystanders were watching. Even Cana looked aghast, jaw dropped after having witnessed such a passionate display. Lucy looked back at Natsu, mouth open to stutter an apology or attempt an awkward joke to diffuse the situation. But he was just staring at her with these rosy cheeks that were surprisingly becoming on him. His eyes were wide and still lidded from the haze her kisses had cast over him, and he was biting his lip in a charming way that made her want to bite it for him.
No words would come out of Lucy's mouth, and she could feel herself getting turned on again, despite the uncomfortable circumstances. She had to leave. Now. Without a word, Lucy ran out, leaving behind the group of stunned partygoers. And an even more stunned kiss-attack victim.
"So does that mean she forfeits," Gajeel wondered aloud, being the first one to formulate words after that shocking spectacle. He hissed when Levy rammed her elbow into his ribs, telling him that this wasn't the time without saying a word.
"I was just asking!"
So, Lucy was kind of a good kisser. Like, a knock-your-socks-off, the-world-will-never be-the-same kind of kisser. It was pretty fair to say that Natsu's mind had been effectively blown for several long moments after the deed had been done. Natsu could totally understand why one of the guys she kissed had passed out because damn. His mouth still had this weird, tingly feeling even after she'd left.
But once the fog had lifted from his distracted brain, he realized that this new friendship they had established was now on shaky ground.
Two hours later, he found himself staring at her front door and trying to make himself knock. In theory, all he had to do was lift his hand and pound on the door. But his arm felt like it was made of lead, and his throat was closed up with anxiety. This should be easy. All he was doing was knocking on a pretty girl's door super late at night and praying she wasn't mad at him.
Yeah. Easy.
He shuffled the box he was holding over to one side, preparing to knock. But, by sheer coincidence, the door swung open at that very moment. Lucy was standing there in her sweats, her hair in a ponytail and her left hand clenching the tie on her trash bag. She gaped at him, almost looking like she was going to wipe her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Ugh. Only Lucy would still look hot in her stupid pajamas. Natsu, who had prepared an entire speech about how the kiss was a stupid dare that shouldn't make things weird between them, also stood in awkward silence. His mind was a total mess, caught up in how good she always looked and the way he now knew her lips tasted (like strawberry lip gloss).
"Um. Hi," Lucy said, voice wavering. "What… are you doing here?"
"I- That is," Natsu stammered, feeling incredibly stupid. This was a dumb idea, he thought. He started backing away, preparing to head down the stairs and run all the way home in his embarrassment.
"It's almost midnight. Sorry, I should've just waited-"
"What's that? In the box," Lucy interrupted, eyes curious.
"Um, comic books. You said that you liked X-Men, right? The night we met? I just threw some in a box along to let you borrow. And I won these," he rambled, pulling Mira's prized hallpasses out of his pocket. Lucy's eyes widened, and she gasped.
"You won truth or dare? Really?"
"I, uh," he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kinda went ham to get these for you."
Lucy's eyes softened, and the smile she gave him nearly knocked the breath out of his lungs. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. Warm, fuzzy feelings that he hadn't had in a very long time spread through his chest. He wrapped his free arm around her back, returning the sentiment. Gods, she was soft.
"So… we're still friends," he asked, voice unsure. She nodded, her silky hair tickling his jawline. When she pulled away, her eyes were glassy. Worried, Natsu opened his mouth to ask if she was okay. But she gave him a huge grin that looked like light peaking through grey clouds. As if she herself wasn't already a ray of sunshine in Natsu's world.
"Do you wanna come in? Makarov just gave me a laptop for school, so we could watch Days of Future Past online, or something. Unless you don't want to, I guess. It's okay either-"
"That sounds awesome," Natsu grinned, cutting her off. "But we have to order pizza."
"Well, duh," Lucy snorted, swinging the door open wide enough for him to walk through. "I wouldn't dare imagine that I could invite you in without feeding you."
"I knew you were smart," Natsu laughed, crossing the threshold. "Speaking of which, have you eaten? You seem more focused than earlier."
"I… I guess you could say that. I am feeling better. Still hungry, but better."
"Good," Natsu smiled. "Eating regularly is important, you know."
"Not everyone can feed themselves every couple hours like you," Lucy joked, shifting the attention away from her own eating habits. Natsu let it slide, not wanting to make her uncomfortable after they'd just escaped the awkwardness of The Kissing Incident.
"So," Lucy continued, analytical eyes assessing him. "Are you feeling… okay? Not woozy or anything?"
"No," Natsu said, confused. "Should I be?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Lucy sighed, not clarifying any further.
"Gods, you're weird," Natsu joked, walking into her living room. It was pretty barren, occupied by nothing except the standard furniture that comes with the rental.
"You're the weird one," Lucy accused, pouting at the his teasing. "I'm not the one school lunch ladies quiver in fear of."
"You're just jealous," Natsu teased, setting the box of comics down on her coffee table and flopping down on her sofa. "It takes years to hone this kind of skill."
"I guess my skills lie elsewhere," Lucy laughed.
It was a completely innocent statement, but it instantly sent Natsu's mind back to the memory of her lips sliding against his. As if on queue, his face burst into flames and the room heated up about a thousand degrees. Lucy, perceptive as she was, seemed to guess exactly where his head was. Her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights, and the two were now drowning in a sea of awkward silence.
"I'llorderthepizza," Natsu rushed to say before diving for the phone.
"GoodideaI'llfindthemovie," Lucy blurted in response, scurrying out of the room in search of her laptop.
Yeah, avoidance was a useful skill of theirs as well. They'd soon find that skirting around any mention of their budding sexual attraction was the only way they could properly function in this relationship.
The world was on fire. Again. Gods, this dream was getting monotonous. After several days of dreaming up a dragon burning the city down, Lucy was almost bored with the whole thing. Rawr! I'm a dragon, and I'm gonna eat you. Then Natsu will pop up out of nowhere being all, I'm here to save you with my trusty sword, Lucy!
Blah blah blah.
It always went down exactly the same way. When the dragon landed in front of her this time, she just gave it a bored stare, lifting an apathetic eyebrow when it snapped its teeth inches from her face. Ooh, she thought sarcastically. Scary.
"Lucy! I'm coming!"
"Nah, it's fine," Lucy called back, tone impossibly blaisé for the circumstances. Oh well. Her day had been exhausting enough. Dreams should be a place of refuge, not stress. She was done playing whatever role had been thrust upon her in this dire scenario. When Natsu rounded the corner and gaped when saw her casually sitting crisscross in front of a feral dragon.
"What are you doing," He all but screamed, running to her side and yanking on her arm.
"Sitting! It's just a dream," she groaned, yanking her arm back. "It's not even real."
"B-but," Natsu gawked, like she'd just stomped all over the world as he knew it. "I have to slay the dragon."
"With that," she asked skeptically, gesturing to his sword. "Why a sword? Do you even know how to use one?"
"I- No? But this is what you slay dragons with, right," he asked, lifting the hunk of metal in question.
"Why don't you use your powers," Lucy asked, rubbing her temples. Gods, even dream-Natsu gave her a migraine.
"My powers? To slay the dragon?"
"Uh, yeah? Have you never tried that before?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I always woke up with a sword in hand, so I just figured…"
Natsu trailed off before tossing his sword aside, his face hardening with a new resolve. He stepped up to the snarling beast, preparing to fight the damned thing. Meanwhile, Lucy stayed behind, mind in a whirl at his words. Always woke up…? This is my dream, right?
Natsu took a deep breath in, hunching over as he prepared to use his magic. He gave a harsh exhale of fire, crimson and gold spiraling out into the air around him. Lucy watched, fascinated, as his hands sparked an inferno that crackled and glowed in the dim twilight. She'd known that his magic was explosive and dangerous since he blew up that yacht the night the night they met. But she didn't know that his magic was so breathtaking and smoldering and… hot.
The dragon swiped at him, and he ducked with ease, sending a blast of fire in its direction. Natsu's movements were almost choreographed, like a dance. Natsu blew fire at the asphalt the dragon stood on, making it so hot that it became molten and liquified like lava. The dragon let out a shiver-inducing howl, rising from the ground with thunderous flaps from its wings. Natsu roared in its direction (actually roared), sending the beast flying away to make its escape.
"Whoa," Lucy breathed, eyes wide. "This is definitely the most intense dream I've ever had."
"The most intense dream you've ever had," Natsu gaped, whirling around to look at her. "This is my dream."
"Um, I'm pretty sure this is my dream," Lucy drawled, crossing her arms. "You're just a figment of my imagination."
"Actually, you're a figment of my imagination," Natsu argued back, petulantly mirroring her posture. "I've been having this dream every night for, like, five years. So I'm pretty sure it's mine."
"Five years? You went through the same dream for five years? And you never figured out how to get rid of it?"
"I've tried," Natsu yelled indignantly. "I just didn't know my powers worked in dreams!"
"So you can dream up an extinct species terrorizing the town, but you can't use your own powers?"
Natsu gave a frustrated cry, looking like he was going to rip his own hair out. Then he fixed Lucy with a glare and stormed off, kicking a lamp post over along the way. Lucy rolled her eyes when the giant hunk of metal gave a groan before crashing down to the pavement. Even in these dreams Natsu was essentially an overpowered toddler. Lucy sighed before running after him, tugging on his arm to halt him.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, turning him to face her. "I just can't believe that we've been sharing this dream for the last week."
"Weirder things have happened," he murmured guardedly, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't see why it's so hard to believe."
"I just get really cynical when I don't understand things like this. I'm still pretty new to this whole paranormal world, you know."
"Yeah," Natsu sighed. "I forget that you're practically a Natural."
"A Natural," Lucy asked, confused.
"It's what we call humans," he explained, lips twisting into a wry smirk. "You're so normal that sometimes I forget you're one of us."
Lucy pulled away, dark feelings churning in her stomach. How she wished she was human, unaffected by this damning lust that was plaguing her mind. She didn't even know how she was what she was. Most of the SH's at her school were born into their heritage. But Lucy's father was so obviously human, having no clue about the true nature of Lucy's affliction. And her mother was a saint, if anything- one who Lucy could never have inherited this curse from.
If only she was human or, at least, a different SH. A witch like Ultear or a shapeshifter like Mira. Someone that didn't need to feed off of others in order to survive. Someone that didn't have all of these unwanted feelings for the first boy who'd befriended her without knowing who her family was. But she wasn't.
Lucy Heartfilia was a succubus. And when her body wasn't shaking with hunger, she was weighed down by this hatred of what she was.
"What's wrong," Natsu asked, worried at her sudden silence. "You know, you get weird every time you being one of us comes up. And I don't even know what kind of SH you are, now that I think about it."
"I-" Lucy stammered, panicking. "I don't really like talking about it."
"Come on," Natsu whined. "It can't be scarier than that dragon."
"It's not scary," Lucy defended. "At least, I don't think it is. But I'm not comfortable with it yet."
"Okay," Natsu sighed. "If you won't tell me, I'll just have to figure it out myself. First clue: You can apparently enter my dreams. That can't be super common."
"I hope it is," Lucy murmured to herself, knowing Natsu could probably hear her.
"Trust me, I'll figure out what you are. It'll probably only take a few days. I mean, how many SH's could there be?"
Two weeks had passed, and Natsu (thank the Gods) still hadn't been able to figure out what she was. It was like a bad retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. Every day he'd come to Lucy with a list of possible SH types, and every day she'd turn them all down. He was starting to get creative, and Lucy was starting to feel bad about the copious amounts of time he'd been spending in Library archives. Levy told her not to fret, that it was the only time she'd ever seen the dragon-boy study so damned hard.
Most of the time, Lucy was in the library with him. It felt like she was studying hours every night just to catch up the the rest of her peers. It didn't help that Porlyusica kept assigning Lucy's Influence Magic Class gobs of homework. The endless quizzes over the different types of SH's and the magic they specialize in had turned Lucy into an SH trivia buff in a matter of days. She definitely envied MiraJane and Levy. Their Deception Magic Class teacher, Mavis, was all about sunshine and friendly getting-to-know-you games. If only.
It's a good thing they sat in the back because Levy was a dictator that reigned supreme over her precious library. This meant that none of the books were to be misused (Lucy had to keep Natsu from ripping out pages with information he found important, no lie). This also meant absolute silence which, for a chatterbox like Natsu, was pretty much impossible.
"Are you an astral projector," Natsu was asking her one day during a study session. "My friend Warren was one. I think he could go into people's dreams."
"Nope," Lucy murmured, distracted as she read a passage for that night's homework assignment. It was a reading meant to give her a firmer grasp on the personality differences between the SH classes. Power class SH's tend to be stronger willed, typically shown in their obstinance and refusal to give up in face of challenges. Yeah, no dip.
"Are you a Sandman? Or Sand-Woman, I guess?"
"Like Max? No way."
"Are you…"
"Heartfilia! We need to talk."
Chills crawled up Lucy's spine when she heard the new voice, instantly knowing who it was. She schooled her expression into one of indifference before turning around, seeing Minerva Orland scowling in her direction a few feet away.
Natsu growled, fist clenching. Minerva hadn't outright bullied Lucy since that first day, and most of the two's encounters had been full of passive aggressive remarks. But something about that girl bothered him, and Lucy could tell. She put a comforting hand on top of Natsu's without breaking Minerva's gaze.
"I'm studying," Lucy said, voice filled with disdain. "Can it wait until class tomorrow?"
"No," Minerva frowned. "It can't. We could talk about it here. But I have a feeling you wouldn't want your little boyfriend to hear."
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean," Natsu hissed, knocking his chair over as he stood. Lucy scanned Minerva's face with her eyes, seeing the smug satisfaction that Minerva held there. She probably wasn't bluffing, and Lucy got a feeling that she knew what their "talk" would be about.
"Calm down, Natsu," Lucy whispered, seeing the way other library-goers watched the exchange. "People are trying to study."
"But Lucy-"
"I'm gonna talk to Minerva," Lucy murmured, holding a hand up when Natsu opened his mouth to refute her. "You can't come. Besides, you need to finish that essay for Wakaba's class, remember? About the importance of blending in?"
"How do you know I haven't already finished it," he huffed, crossing his arms.
"Because you never finish anything until the night before it's due."
"Will you be okay," he murmured, eyes concerned. Minerva groaned in indignation behind them.
"Christ, she's just coming to talk to me. She's not going to war for the Gods' sakes. Cut the theatrics and go back to studying, reptile-boy."
"His name is Natsu," Lucy scowled, moving to stand between them. "You wanna talk? Let's go."
Minerva rolled her eyes before spinning away, her hair hitting Lucy's face in the process. Lucy glared at Minerva's back as the girl left the library, clearly wanting Lucy to follow her who knows where. Lucy waved goodbye to Natsu before heading after her, flinching at the distraught look on his face. She'd have to call him later to assure him she was alright, or else he'd break into her place like he'd been doing for the past two weeks.
Lucy jogged a little to catch up to Minerva, growing weary when the girl stopped in an empty hallway. Minerva crossed her arms and leaned against a locker, fixing Lucy with a glare that suggested the blonde was encroaching on her time instead of the other way around.
"What did you wanna talk about," Lucy asked, finally breaking the silence.
"I finally meet someone who's my age that is one of my kind, and she's an idiot," Minerva scowled. The breath left Lucy's lungs, and the world started spinning.
"One of- You mean-"
"A succubus," Minerva clarified. "You can't seriously say you didn't know, Miss Honor Roll."
The strange thing is, as much of a shock as the revelation was, that Lucy had kind of known. It was always there, in the back of her mind. The instinctive knowing that she and Minerva were cut from the same cloth. That they were two of a kind at this diverse school. That both of them carried around the title of Succubus. It explained the twisting, nervous feeling in her stomach that she'd had upon first seeing her.
"We're both- You're the same as me?"
"What are you, a descendant of Echo? That's what I just said," Minerva snapped.
"Sorry, I just- It's just a surprise, that's all," Lucy stuttered meekly. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"
"No," Minerva rolled her eyes. "It isn't. We have bigger things to talk about."
"Bigger things," Lucy reiterated, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Like what?"
"The fact that you're following the same footsteps as your stupid mother, that's what."
DUN DUN DUN. I think I have a thing for cliffhangers recently. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! More to come, but the update might be a bit slow. I was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading other stories of mine? I have a few AU brainchildren that have been spinning in my head. Two University!AUs, a Stardust!AU, a Jane Austen!AU (SUPER steamy), and a Zombie!AU. IDK if I should work on them because I'm afraid of slacking off on this story. But if you're interested, let me know. Don't worry, though. This story is still my beloved baby, and I'll try not to go more than two weeks without updating. Please Follow, Favorite, and Review. Thanks! :)