Feeling like a different girl entirely, Lucy first blew out the candle and then stood. "Where's Happy?" Please say he's coming. Please save me from myself.

Her voice was like burning coals on Natsu's skin, hot but not unpleasant. Her eyes cut right through him. To keep from squirming, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and attempted to look casual. "He's hanging out with Wendy and Carla." His words didn't come out quite as smoothly as he wanted. What's wrong with you? Lucy. Lucy was wrong with him. She hadn't done much, only looked at him with eyes that were darker than he remembered. Only stood before him, mostly bare. No, not much, yet it was more than enough to send him reeling. He could smell her skin. Vanilla. Something heady. Did she always smell so good?

"Oh." Lucy waited to feel disappointed. She didn't. Aware of his eyes upon her, she stepped closer.

Feeling nervous, Natsu watched her move as fluid as a ghost. Her skin was dusky white, bright in the darkness, yet not as bright as it should be. He took a step back when she got too close and knocked his elbow against her dresser. A tall cylinder of hairspray was set to rocking. He caught it before it could fall to the ground and set it up again. Breaking the silence, he asked the most logical question he could think of. "You… um…" His brow was sweaty. "You want some pajamas?" He stepped away from her drawers. "I can get out while you change—"

"No." Her mouth curled into a small smile, as if she knew she was making him uncomfortable and liked it.

No?

She took another step towards him and Natsu took another step back; his shoulders hit against the wall. There was nowhere else to go. She came within inches of him, so close he could feel the coolness leaking from her skin.

"What are you doing?" His throat felt raw.

Lucy tipped her face back and looked at him expectantly. "I need you to help me."

Help her? "With what?" He imagined plenty of things she'd say next, all of which were just ridiculous. Maybe he was dreaming.

Lucy answered by pressing her palm against his chest and feeling his heartbeat. It was too fast. Too hard. You shouldn't. She was anyway. Rising on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck. His skin was blisteringly hot against hers. Almost painfully so. It was a good feeling. She wriggled, getting close enough that her chest was flat against his.

Inside of her hold, Natsu's breath turned ragged. He could feel every part of her. "What the fuck are you doing, Lucy?" The words came out harsh sounding.

"You don't like it?"

Don't you? "I…" Natsu swallowed, throat bobbing, fingers itching to play over her sides. That dark, rich smell was drifting off her skin in full force. The scent was tantalizing, maddening, and utterly crippling. It drew him in like dry soil draws down the rain, and trapped him.

"It's okay to touch me."

Her words scalded him. She wants you to touch her.

Without realizing it, he leaned into her, nose finding the crook of her neck, and breathed deeply. So close, it would take hardly any effort at all to flick out his tongue and run it over her skin. The thought itself was surprising, but what really got under his skin was how much he wanted to. What would that dark scent taste like on her body?

Lucy let out a sighing breath and shivered while his breath broke over her bare shoulder. She thought she'd have to try harder, but Natsu was pliable; he wanted this, and her. Maybe for a long time. This is good. This way, you won't have to think about Zeref, about the way he tastes and feels…

Unlocking one arm from around his throat, she found her way to the hem of his T-shirt and slipped up under the fabric. Her fingers on his skin made him hiss and jump, yet he still didn't pull away. Encouraged, Lucy tipped her head to the left, exposing her neck in invitation. His lips grazed her skin. It wasn't a kiss, but it was close enough that she purred.

At the sound, Natsu growled lowly, possessively. What are you doing? Lucy wasn't his, not like this. The thought was cold water to the lava in his veins. Moving erratically, he pulled back and almost cracked his head against the wall. "Lucy—"

Flicking her eyes up to meet his gaze, she said, "Kiss me, Natsu." Her voice was husky and dark, hardly recognizable.

The bottom fell out of his stomach. "What?"

Please. Another kiss on her lips would drown out Zeref's. She found his hair and weaved her fingers through it. It was softer than she expected.

Natsu's lungs were tight. Kiss me. His lips felt dry so he licked them. Kiss Lucy. For sure he thought he was going to say no. And yet, his body was a traitor, his hands finding the cool skin at her waist. Though he didn't tug her in like he wanted, he wasn't yet brave enough for that, he did hold her steady. Heart crashing, he bent and went searching for her mouth. Lucy met him halfway, rising on tiptoe.

Her mouth was smooth and cool. The kiss was soft. It didn't stay that way. In seconds, Lucy crushed her mouth to his, like he was air after she'd been suffocating for too long, and kissed him hard enough that his lips mashed against his teeth. There was a moan on her tongue when she went searching for his. Her skin got colder still.

Feeling like he was being flayed alive, Natsu pulled away from her. She tried to yank him back again but he couldn't, the sensation was too intense. That avenue failing, she went for his clothes instead. Panting, mind whirling, Natsu pushed her hands away. "Lucy—"

"Please, Natsu." The way she said his name would haunt his dreams forever. Now, every other time it was spoken by any other girl, it was going to sound completely inadequate. Part of him hated her for that.

She went for his shirt again, sliding under it so she touched his stomach.

Fuck. Her hands were ice. They felt good and they felt terrible. His skin hurt. Fuck. She found his belt.

Nope. Nope. Nope. With great effort, he pushed her back. She stumbled and almost fell, the expression on her face shocked, maybe even scared. Natsu nearly reached out to catch her, but he was afraid of what would happen if he touched her skin.

He turned away from her and started to pace, thrusting his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Fuck. "Lucy—"

She'd recovered. "What's wrong?"

He didn't want to look back at her; there was a sultry lilt to her voice that made him harder than a rock. Painfully so. Fuck.

"Look at me, Natsu."

I don't want to.

Again, his body was traitorous. Turning, he found her in the moonlight leaking in through her window. Her hair was a puffy wave over her shoulder; her lips looked blacker than soot in the dim light. Her skin was dark and welcoming. There was nothing covering her breasts any longer, and she was working on her underwear. Fuck.

"What are you doing?"

Escaping. "Are you nervous?"

"No," he lied. "I just..." he trailed off. There were rules to their relationship and Lucy was working on changing every single one.

Fuck.

"What?" The panties fell away. Stepping out of them, she came to him. He'd stopped pacing like a caged bear in favor of staring at her. The look in his eye had changed: melded eagerness and anxiety. He wanted this. He was afraid to want this. She knew how he felt. You should stop.

She touched him instead, fingers drawing circles over his fluttering heart through the fabric of his shirt. There was magic at her fingertips, magic that didn't belong to her. Magic that wanted to leak out and buffet him. Magic that would hurt if she let it.

Don't.

Holding it in was hard; it felt good and it felt bad. It felt like Zeref was with her. It felt like she needed him too much.

"Lucy…" Lucy. Lucy. Lucy. Natsu's palms were slick and his skin was too warm. It wasn't a comfortable feeling; he never got hot; not ever, but with Lucy standing there naked with her hand against his heart and that crooked smile on her lips, he was practically sweating through his shirt.

"What is it, Natsu?" The way she said his name carried some strange power.

Say something. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I—Lucy..." Fuck. Is that all you can say? Her name? He couldn't think.

He's helpless. She felt powerful. She felt awful. Drawing back from him, she pushed her fingers through her long blonde hair, composing herself. "You don't have to stay here, Natsu, not if you don't want."

For a moment, even standing entirely nude in front of him as she was, she sounded like her old self as she offered him an escape route. He seriously considered taking it, but then she licked her lips in a way that was both wicked and inviting and he knew he wouldn't go.

Acting braver and more confident than he was, he took her hand and led her to the bed. Every single step he took, his sandals moving over her hardwood floor seemed to rap out, 'What are you doing? What are you doing?'

He had no fucking idea.

Stop thinking. That was easy.

At the bed, Lucy slipped out of his grasp and lay down on the mattress; it was silent beneath her weight. Her breasts bounced alluringly, her eyes flashed darkly, her mouth parted and Natsu went right back to sweating.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Saying it aloud didn't offer the relief he thought it should.

No. Lucy didn't say what she was thinking, afraid he'd go away; she hadn't thought of Zeref in a few long seconds, not since Natsu grabbed her hand and led her here. And that was just the start. We can do this. Being with him… it could be easy. It would be good.

Propping herself up on one elbow, she grabbed his shirt and dragged him down for another kiss. There had been a lot of nights she'd lain awake thinking about this very thing, but never did she imagine how good it would feel. His tongue was smooth and soft, his lips moving not un-clumsily. That was alright. Better than alright. She nipped him before pulling away. Without her mouth on his, he groaned lowly, a tortured sort of sound.

Natsu reminded himself to breathe. Looking down at his best friend, he watched her eyes darken. In that moment, she looked beautiful and terrible, like she could tear him apart with a thought. At this point, he'd even welcome it, if it meant he didn't have to stop.

"Get undressed."

His lungs ached. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, his hands shook with eagerness. With fear. How did it come to this? He didn't care to trace back the last few day's events to see what kind of change had come over Lucy, all he cared about what that it had, and here they were.

His shirt got caught on his chin when he pulled it over his head. In his haste, he almost tore it, some of the threads snapping away. When he came free, Lucy wasn't smiling; she was tracking his movements like a hawk tracked a mouse. He wasn't used to feeling like he was on the lower end of the food chain; he still wouldn't complain, though. Lucy's scent was all around him, driving almost every comprehensible thought from his head. His belt was undone along with the first button of his pants, when Lucy got frustrated with his slowness and tugged him onto the bed between her legs.

"Wait—"

Moaning, she found his mouth and severed his words. Fuck it. The pants could wait. He kissed her until his mouth felt numb; her lips were colder than they had any right to be. Wondering why was a long way off. Her fingers skated over his naked chest, then lower. First she cupped him through his pants, then angled her hips and grinded off of him as best she could. It wasn't enough.

Every nerve ending was on fire. Squeezing Natsu hard, Lucy broke away and forced his mouth down around her neck. He kissed her fervently, like he'd been dreaming of it for a long time. In response, the darkness in her skin pushed at the surface, longing for a chance to escape. The more Natsu touched her, the wilder she felt, until she both wanted to swallow him and tear him open. No longer was this a reprieve; it was like setting herself on fire. Again, the magic pulsed at her fingers, like it wanted to slip out and taste the dragon slayer. Clearly, she remembered the powerful wave that had severed Shadow Father's head from his body.

It's too much. Way, way too much. The magic is going to get out and you're going to kill him too. Frustrated and half-panicked, she thrust her free hand through his hair, unsure if she wanted to pull him closer or push him off, and bit his shoulder too hard to be considered playful.

She expected him to pull back and gasp in pain, but he only moaned darkly and twisted his face so his lips were on hers again. He kissed her like a desperate man, clumsy and quick, grabbing her anywhere he could.

Gods.

Way, way, way too much.

Zeref's magic chose that moment of weakness to try to bloom from her fingertips. Lucy struggled for a moment, at war with herself. She didn't want to hurt Natsu. She wanted to hurt Natsu. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to tear him apart. She wanted to let the magic go and let it do what it did best because that was the only thing it was built for. She needed to resist because she wanted it so badly.

Reason and long-term friendship won. She hauled back on the blackness and pulled away from Natsu's mouth. He made to come for her again and she almost let him, thinking, does it really matter? Then fear brought her clarity. You'll kill him. Shaking, she turned her face away.

Feeling her tremble, Natsu propped himself up and looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"You need to leave," she choked out.

Leave? "What?" Natsu sputtered.

The magic writhed, bits slipping from her control and brushing his skin; they were weak enough that he didn't seem to notice. Lucy clamped down on it harder but knew she couldn't hold it back forever. "Please, Natsu."

"Did I hurt you?" He didn't want her to look at him like that, wide-eyed and scared.

"I said get out!" She pushed him roughly, hard enough that he was shoved off the bed onto the floor.

He sat there for a dazed moment, feeling a strange pressure build in the room.

It's coming. Lucy fought to keep her breaths steady, knowing that if she let any of her control slip, it would start a cascading effect. "Get out, now!" Reaching over her head, she grabbed the first thing she could and threw it. Her bedside clock. The thing crashed into the wall beside Natsu's head instead of into his cheek. It took that clattering noise to shake him from his numbness. Scrambling to his feet, he did just as she asked, leaving his shirt behind in his haste.

When he was out of her window and halfway down the street, the magic finally exploded from Lucy's skin. It raced through her apartment like hellfire, killing everything it touched: her goldfish, her cactus, even the daisies she had picked four days before. That black cloud seeped into the apartment next door and stole the breath from her neighbour, Mr. Band, as he slept. Unconscious as he was, he didn't feel a thing, but Lucy did. She thought she'd never forget the feeling of his heart stopping and his breath halting. Hit with a wave of both pleasure and sickness, all she could do was wrap her arms around her waist and keen. It wasn't killing him that made her feel ill, though, it was her complete lack of compassion for his innocent death. At least it was him and not Natsu.

Trapped in the agonizing aftermath of such powerful magic, all Lucy could do was lay there and wonder again what Natsu would think of the new Lucy Heartfilia. Would he be so willing to kiss the fiend once he had seen her true face?

Not likely.

The thought made her incredibly sad.

Feeling forlorn, she longed for Zeref. He wouldn't judge her because they were just alike. She was his monster, after all.

Lookee here. I'm so fucking good at escaping, you guys get two chapters today. Hallelujah.