"Lucy! How did it go?"

"Was it romantic?"

"Lu-chan, I need details now!"

A group of women from the guild surrounded the blonde as she stepped over the threshold of the guild. She took a seat at the center of the table closest to the entrance and fiddled with the single rose in her hand.

"He took me to a really nice place for dinner and then we took a walk along the canal," she said, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "It was simple, but really sweet. I probably wouldn't say no to a second date."

The women around her listened with rapt attention, cooing at the blushing mage. It was later in the evening, so the guild hall had emptied of all but the typical stragglers. Their chatters carried all the way to the other end of the spacious room, where a certain pink-haired man sat with his blue companion.

"I don't see what's so special about that guy," he muttered under his breath. "Dinner and a walk? I've done that a hundred times with Lucy."

"Lucy seems happy though, I think it's nice," the cat piped up, glancing at his partner whose words had been accompanied by a deep frown.

"Whatever. Let's go home, Happy." Natsu ruffled the fur on his head. "She's fine, I don't know what I was worried about."

The blue exceed glanced uneasily at his best friend, but still hopped off his seat and followed him across the hall and out the guild, waving goodbye to Lucy before they left. Lucy, who was still held captive by the other girls' questions, waved back absentmindedly, the next moment widening her eyes just a bit in shock. She hadn't even noticed her teammates were still in the building.

"It's getting late," she said, slowly getting up from the table. "I think I'm going to head home as well."

A cacophony of whines and complaints followed as she sheepishly waved good night, promising more details in the morning. The cool night air outside calmed her heated face and she heaved a big sigh in relief before making the trek back to her apartment.

She blushed again, remembering the kiss on her cheek from the same person she received the rose from. It was a rather cliche choice of flower, but she found it to be a romantic gesture nonetheless. And the two potentially had more dates and chances for him to learn about her actual favorite flower.

Lucy had first bumped into the guy at the market earlier that week, and he asked her out to dinner. This wasn't a rare occurrence, but it was the first time in a long time she said yes to someone who asked. And frankly, she couldn't remember why she avoided going on dates in the past.

Actually, yes you can, her internal voice reminded her. But the blonde shook the thought out of her head, which caused her to stumble a bit while balancing on the edge of the canal. Something about that morning made her say yes, and she didn't regret doing so. They had a lot in common, and he seemed genuinely interested when she accidentally let slip the fact that she was an aspiring author.

It was still a bit awkward, as most first dates go. There were some times she couldn't tell he was making a joke, and laughed a beat too late. And his hand felt a little too sweaty when they took their walk. But he was still someone she could see herself dating, the blonde concluded decisively, right as she reached her front door. The day had been far too long, and the celestial mage was feeling the exhaustion set in. She couldn't wait to take a hot, steamy shower and relax with a book for the rest of the night.

— — —

Lucy walked out of her bathroom, patting her face dry with a towel as the steam from her shower followed her out. She was planning on heading to her vanity to finish her nighttime routine, but the sight in front of her stopped her in her tracks. Someone was curled up in a large lump beneath her blankets, and the tuft of pink hair poking out the top gave a pretty big hint to the identity of the intruder.

She sighed and squatted down beside her bed, bringing her face to the same level as her most frequent guest. Normally, Lucy would just wake him up and get him to relocate to the sofa or his own home. On rare occasions, if she were feeling extra exhausted or extra cold that night, she would have just crawled under the covers without a word, resigning to being awoken by Happy's teasing the next morning.

But tonight was not one of those nights.

"Natsu," she called softly, "wake up. Go home. Why are you even here so late, weirdo?"

When she was only met by snoring, her eyebrow twitched in irritation and she recalled her train of thought from earlier. Natsu never once showed any interest in her, so why had she been caring for him all this time? Cooking for him, cleaning for him, even letting him sleep at her place when she knew he had a perfectly good house. Why did it suddenly feel like her goodwill had been taken advantage of for a long time?

"Natsu," she snapped. "Get out of my bed and go home." She flicked him once on the forehead for good measure, which at least drew a response of scrunched up eyebrows from the dragonslayer who was definitely awake now.

"Luce, it's too warm to leave now, just shhhh…" his voice trailed off in his sleepiness. One could've thought he had fallen back asleep if not for his lifting the blanket just enough, as if it were the most natural thing to do, to welcome the blonde woman into her own bed.

"Natsu, I'm serious. Go. Home." Lucy had gotten up and started tugging on his arm—not that she was all that confident that doing so would get him off her bed.

But at least it made him open his eyes.

"Come on, Luce, I couldn't fall asleep, can't I just stay the night?" Natsu whined, throwing in a pout for good measure.

"You can cuddle with Happy for all I care. But you can't be sneaking in so late anymore. It's not right for me to have someone else in my bed now that I'm seeing someone."

This made Natsu sit up, groaning as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh please, Lucy. You're not really going on a second date with that guy are you? I saw him earlier too, he seemed lame."

Lucy huffed, crossing her arms under her chest. "For what it's worth, I actually do like him a lot and we have a lot in common. And why would you care if I see him again?"

"You won't have time to go on jobs with me and Happy anymore," the male grumbled, recoiling when he looked up and the murderous expression on her face told him it was the wrong thing to say.

Lucy felt herself go cold. To think she could've gotten any guy she wanted the last two years, especially as she became more well-known and associated with Fairy Tail. To think she had refused them because she had been, subconsciously or not, holding out hope that the idiot in front of her kept her around for even a bit more than platonic reasons.

"So that's all I'm good for? To go on jobs with?" She laughed dryly. "You two were and still are perfectly fine on your own. And if you really need someone else just ask Erza or Gray. They'd be more useful no matter the situation."

"You know that's not what I meant to say," he whined. "And why would I choose them over you? You know you're an important part of the team."

A more rational, but quieter part of her mind wanted her to stop, to remind herself that it wasn't really anyone's fault but her own for having had a non-existent love life. Natsu never explicitly showed any more interest in her than as friends. And her relative worthlessness was really only something she dwelled on in her weaker moments. Besides, Natsu never seemed to mind that she couldn't contribute as much.

But she was too worked up now to back down.

Lucy threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know that Natsu. What I do know is that you've saved me more times than I can count. I know I won't ever contribute as much to the team as Erza or Gray. I know that I spend the nights I can't sleep worrying that it's high time for me to be replaced by someone else. Or even worse, that I'm holding you all back because you'd feel bad asking me to leave."

Natsu faltered at her declaration. Is this really how Lucy saw herself?

Having interpreted his silence as agreement, the blonde continued her tirade.

"You're a goddamn dragonslayer, you don't need whatever little addition I bring. So why else do you keep me around, Natsu? You know, I've been asking myself for months. Maybe you just wanted a pretty face? Or maybe it's a charity thing? Like you felt bad for me, the rookie girl with her silly keys?

"But do you even know how much it messes with a girl? You drag me along everywhere, you've snuck into my room, into my bed for years and act like that's normal for two guildmates. You smile at me like that and then call me your friend. I trusted you enough to throw myself off a tower!"

Lucy stumbled backwards after the declaration, chest heaving, catching herself on her vanity stool. It felt like all the strength in her legs vanished and all the words she just said crashed back into her like a tidal wave.

"Listen, I appreciated you taking me along for maybe the first year or so, showing me the ropes, but it's been ages now and it can't have all been worth it," the words suddenly softened, defeated. "Please stop trying to tell me I'm strong in my own way. When it comes down to it, we both know I'm the liability, the weakest one of us all."

Steady footsteps closed the small space between her bed and vanity, and her line of sight fell on Natsu's hands flexing by his side, as if unsure what to do with them. She ventured her gaze upwards and had to look away immediately. He was staring at her with an unfathomable expression, burning two spots into her cheek as her face was now turned towards her vanity mirror. Her own reflection was bright red, and she couldn't decide if it was from embarrassment, anger, or if she were simply out of breath.

"Luce, I—"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have exploded on you like that," she mumbled, burying her face in shaking hands. "I don't know what got into me. It's probably best if you just leave tonight."

A long period of silence followed, her breathing calmed, and she wondered if he had actually left. Maybe he realized the gravity of the moment and had actually been careful enough to leave quietly, instead of the usual noise he made. Lucy couldn't decide whether it felt better or worse that he actually listened to her request, and she felt her eyes well up with burning tears.

"Damn it." She laughed mirthlessly. She got what she wanted, didn't she? Whether she regretted it now, it was her who asked him to leave. Of course he would listen.

It was when she reached a hand out for the box of tissues on the surface next to her that another larger, rougher hand finally shot out, grabbing her arm before she could jump away in shock.

"That's not fair, Luce. Don't I get to say my part?" His voice was low, so low she might not have caught it if he weren't as close as he was. Nothing like the bright, boisterous sound that she listened for every time she got close to the guild. Nor the steady, confident voice that would give her the final push of motivation whenever a battle was on its last legs. The words came out slowly, each syllable just barely eked out.

Lucy finally looked up through watery eyes and for a second, Natsu was taken aback with the thought that she had never looked so heart-wrenchingly gorgeous as she did in that moment.

His hold on her wrist slackened a bit, but he never let go. He never wanted to, not ever, not anymore. In fact, Natsu decided, he never wanted to leave her side again.

"Do you really think so low of me, that you think I pick my friends based on their strengths?"

At the word friends, Lucy's chest tightened in the worst way, but she held back her thoughts.

"Even if you're not the strongest, you're brave. You might think you're weak, but you still fight the same battles as the rest of us. And you always stand up for your spirits and fight with them, even if they're the ones supposed to be protecting you. You said it a bunch before, I'm impulsive and reckless. But as far as I'm concerned, you're the most courageous."

The dam broke and two tears made their way quickly down Lucy's face. It was rare to see Natsu being so sincere, much less in regards to her. She barely had time to worry about how swollen her eyes would be by the morning when the one in front of her continued talking.

"Besides," the pink-haired mage murmured as he squatted down to her level, his dark eyes searching her own, "it'll never be a problem that you're not as strong, you'll always have me, Luce."

Lucy's lips quivered, and Natsu worried that he somehow still said the wrong thing. But she flung her arms around his neck and threw her body against his, knocking them both to the ground.

"Natsu!" She cried. "I… I…" She didn't even know what direction to go in next.

"I'm sorry if it seemed like I only cared about having you around for jobs." Natsu's free hand came up tentatively before settling on her shoulder. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her comforting scent of vanilla and something else that was just simply Lucy, gathering courage for what he needed to say next.

"The truth is… I don't like the idea of you dating that guy, or any other guy. It's selfish, and you seemed happy, and I tried really hard not to say anything Luce. I really did. But I get this icky feeling and I don't like the kinda person I am when it happens. It's like, I want to steal you away and lock you in a room and let no one else see you and—"

"Natsu, you're jealous!" Lucy said in a breath of relief. All this time, and the oblivious boy in front of her had possibly been harboring the same feelings she had for him. Said boy nodded slowly and looked away bashfully, cheeks tinted pink.

A beat of silence amplified the space as Lucy watched him, tenderly. Now no longer intertwined, but faces just as close together, she cupped his face between both hands.

"How long have you had these feelings for me?"

If possible, his cheeks burned redder, and he still couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"I don't know, I was just getting these funny feelings, but I thought I just ate something bad at first." He was embarrassed, not because of the way he felt, but because he never paid enough attention to realize. "You know how I am, I don't think enough, and then I do these stupid things, like you're always saying."

"Well, thank goodness it's not too late," Lucy smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Tentatively, softly, brimming with promise. Natsu's eyes finally snapped back to her, surprised. "Come on, let's go to bed," she said, getting back on her feet already and pulling him up with her.

As they crawled under the covers, with Lucy curled up against his chest, Natsu couldn't help but think to himself. He may have been strong and fearless for as long as he could remember, but he never felt safer than now.

A/N: ...hello it's been over a year since I last posted a fic but ngl it's because this taylor swift travis kelce thing made me very giddy and looking for fanfiction serotonin and inspired me to finish up my old fic. I literally had like three paragraphs left to write asdhjkahjdk. this one's a little less light-hearted and silly than my other one, but still sweet hopefully! anyways i hope you enjoyed!