Natsu didn't know where his relationship with Lucy stood.
They've kissed, they've flirted, they've hugged, they've held hands, and the big part: they've had sex before. So nothing was out of the ordinary if he thinks back on their relationship and what it may look like from an outsider's point of view. He's done more boyfriend duties with her than he ever has in his entire life! But considering this was only a thing when they were in person (and maybe those late night phone calls they shared a couple of times) the two were probably the weirdest couple to date with the way they act when they're away from one another.
No phone calls. No texts. No dates. No promises of seeing you soon. No endearing goodbye kisses. No hello kisses.
Nothing.
It was the weirdest thing but considering how weird Lucy was, he didn't take it too personally.
He didn't know what to do about it. He felt awkward and silly to be the one to do anything about it since Lucy seems content with the way things were.
But he wasn't.
He wanted more.
He wanted to call and text her every time he thought of her (which was most of the time). He wanted to hang out whenever he could. He wanted to kiss her and hold her. He wanted to go on dates.
He wanted it all but why didn't she?
Natsu thought about it often when he found himself thinking about her. He would think about what he would say or what they could do as he sat around and spaced out. Most often than others someone would catch him and scream at him till he was snapping out of it to shout an insult but go right back to it afterwards.
Gray had noticed this one too many times and he had tried to get Natsu to open up and say something but he was stubborn and hot-headed as ever so he gave up.
His mother just nagged and his father was busy (and his pride would not allow him to run to daddy about his feelings) and Wendy… well, what the hell would a twelve year old know about dating and feelings?
After New Years, something shifted (again) and he was unsure what the hell it was. Their kiss was explosive and he still blushes when he thinks about it but that was it. He brought her home, kissed her goodbye, and then left. He wasn't going to invite himself in and look desperate and she didn't ask him to stay or linger. But all night all he could think about was her. Her smile. Her scent. The way she looked. The way she looked at him. The way she held his hand and the way her hand felt in his. Her warmth. Her aura.
Everything about her was so refreshing and beautiful.
That's how he could describe it.
Beautiful. Radiant.
Like the stars in the sky and he was taken back by how much she looked like a real life princess when he had seen her the first time in Cana's garden. Flushed face and barefoot and hair a little bit of a mess since they were drunk and fighting but he still found her most beautiful.
Natsu Dragneel was not a lovey dovey sappy kind of romantic. He didn't care much about the whole hand holding and flower giving crap that happened because it didn't matter to him. It was all tedious and he never had the urge to do anything like that because why waste money on flowers and who cares about holding hands?
But here he was, buying flowers for a girl who cried about how she's never even received flowers from anyone before and especially from her asshole boyfriend. So to prove her wrong (because he is never wrong!) he bought her flowers. And held her hand.
But the hand holding thing was more for him than her anyways.
And now a week later from New Years, he was here, overthinking like an idiot. Thinking about the many conversation starters he could text her. The things he would say over the phone. The places he could take Lucy on dates to.
Anytime his phone rang he was springing into action to check who it was and then shlump in defeat when it wasn't the one person he thought would call. He would pace and stare at her contact. His finger would hover over the call button and he would throw his phone and scream in frustration.
It's not like he wanted to act or feel this way. He felt crazy. He didn't know why or how this even happened but he was actually falling for this woman he was forced into a relationship and marriage with. He didn't want anything to do with her from the start but now as time passed by and he was around her, he didn't mind her. He liked her. He liked almost everything about her.
Why?
There was too much snow on the ground the past couple weeks which is why Lucy and her mother hadn't come over. His mother claims it's too dangerous and it's not worth it to just try on a couple dresses so they would resume once the weather lessens and it made him squirmish because he wanted her to come over and try on dresses. He wanted her to come over just because and just so he could be around her.
It was the second week of January and he felt like the universe was against him now. After they had granted him such a divine gift of being Lucy's (first) New Year's kiss, they had decided that was enough for him and had washed Magnolia in a snow storm that covered the streets and shut down school for weeks.
Thankfully, Wendy was still able to get her work done with virtual learning but having his little sister around all the time was making him crazy. She always asked him to play and help him with her homework and classwork and he just wanted to mope around in peace.
Until one particular evening, he had realized that Wendy was his key to success.
"Can Lucy come over and go sledding with us?"
Natsu was beaming with pride and joy as he scooped his sister up and spun her around as she squealed. He noticed that she was getting a bit too big for this now and he had set her down, ruffling her hair which made her shout out a protest.
His not-so-little sister was growing into such a fine woman and a smart one at that.
So he was all grins and sunshine one morning and he had dialed the phone to hear her voice for the first time since New Years.
"Hello?" Her voice was so light and airy over the phone, sometimes he felt like he was melting.
"Hey!" He sounded a bit too enthusiastic and he cleared his throat to collect himself. "Hey, uh, Wendy wanted me to call and ask if you were free to go sledding today?"
His heart pounded inside of his chest while he chewed on his thumb, anxious to hear what her answer would be and anxious to see this beauty.
"Oh, uh, sure!" He could hear the smile on her lips. "Is there anywhere you want me to meet you or at your place?"
His heart skipped a beat. "My place. I could come pick you up."
"The roads are kind of slippery, I don't want you to get hurt or stuck on the way here."
"Don't worry about that. Our streets and the roads are pretty much plowed and salted."
"Oh… sure then. I'll get ready now."
"Great. See you soon." He had hung up and he was fist pumping in victory. "Wendy! I'm going to go pick Lucy up!"
"Yay!" Wendy's cheer echoed through the large home and she was rushing away as she nearly knocked her own mother down.
"What is going on?" Grandine scowled, watching how Wendy had run down the hall and disappeared around the corner before she turned to see her son rushing up the stairs. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go pick Lucy up. We're going sledding." He tried to be nonchalant and cool about it but the way his mother instantly beamed was making him regret telling her the truth. Before she could even open her mouth and suggest anything that would require her to be away from him, he beat her to it. "And no, she's not going to do any wedding planning! We're going sledding!"
"You won't be sledding all day! We just got in new dresses and I would love for her to try them on!"
"Mom, you're being ridiculous. You can have her when you invite her over. It's my day." He stormed away in a fury with his cheeks painted pink as he could hear his mother's snickering.
He was quick to get to his room to dig out some snow pants from his closet. He kept a pair of shorts underneath while he pulled up the thick snow pants, tying the string to keep it in place and he was pulling on a long sleeve shirt and then a hoodie on top. He grabbed his signature scarf and he spent a good ten minutes digging through looking for gloves and his room was a mess. The good thing was he found his beanie while looking for gloves and once he did find the pesky things, he was shouting in victory because he was finally one step closer to picking Lucy up.
He tied his snow boots as tight as he could and tucked his socks in, feeling like he weighed a million pounds with the amount of layers he had on but he didn't even care because he was going to see his girlfriend!
Natsu had grabbed the keys for his father's SUV and was anxiously waiting in the car as it warmed up, wanting it to be nice and toasty so his girlfriend didn't have to climb into a cold car.
It made him feel silly to even think of these things and he was scowling to himself as he drove down their driveway. He thought about everything he could say and would say when he first saw her and he even wondered if he should kiss her when he saw her.
The drive there was longer than he remembered and it also could have been because the roads were still a bit slippery and he didn't want to cause an accident or because he was so anxious to see her it felt like forever. The empty backroads to her house looked extra long and extra deserted but he finally made it in one piece and he waited for the gates to open before he was driving up their long driveway.
He left the car running so the heat could course through the car and he hopped out of the car to rush to the door, knocking on the large double doors for it to be opened moments later by a maid he recognized as the weird one.
"Sir Natsu, welcome."
"Just Natsu is fine." He said, eyeing her weirdly as she bowed at a perfect ninety degree angle.
"Very well, Sir Natsu." She stood up straight, allowing his entry. "I will notify Lady Lucy that you have arrived."
"Thanks." He watched how she scurried off and he stood by the doorway so he didn't trek any snow into their home. He pulled the gloves off his hands and then shoved them in his pockets to look around in half-interest at their decoration until he heard their footsteps approaching. His heart practically leaped out of his throat as he saw her approach with the same maid, a scowl on her perfect pale face as she whispered something at her until she had noticed him.
She looked like a marshmallow with her pink puffer coat and her matching gloves. She had snow pants on with snow boots that were tied to her perfect little feet and he especially liked the earmuffs she had as she smiled at him.
"Hey," she approached him and he found himself grinning.
"Hey," He greeted back, enchanted by her presence. "You ready?"
"Yes," she turned back to the maid. "Please let mama and papa know I will be back later tonight. Notify them I have gone over to the Dragneel's."
"Yes, Princess." She bowed and Lucy was sighing while Natsu looked amused. "Safe travels."
"Thanks!" She had turned to tug on his arm and he followed her, trying not to stare at his fellow pink-haired human.
"Princess?" He asked, an amused smile to his lips.
Lucy just sighed, shaking her head back and forth. "I tell her not to call me that but she just does what she wants. Guess it's not the worst thing to be called."
"Yeah, she calls me sir Natsu. She's weird."
"Virgo is definitely a special treat." She murmured and Natsu had come over to her side to open the door. "Thanks!" She had smiled widely and climbed into the warm vehicle and he smiled before shutting the door to make his way over to his side. Once inside, he turned down the heat and buckled himself in before he was making his way back to his own home. "How have you been?"
Natsu was secretly glad she had started the conversation and he tried to keep his eyes on the road. "Just fine. Not much since we've been snowed in for the past couple weeks."
"Yeah, the weather is a real bummer." Lucy said while she turned to look out the window. "At least it stopped snowing for the time being."
"Yeah but it always starts up sometime in the evening."
"True," She had a small pout on her lips and Natsu found himself wanting to nibble on it. "Kind of glad though. My mom was trying to bring me over to try on more dresses and I couldn't find an excuse why I didn't want to."
"I feel like you'll have better luck arguing with a brick wall." Her laugh made him warm and the corner of his lips tugged upwards at the sound.
"You're not wrong."
"So, how is the wedding planning going? How far did you get?"
Lucy sighed and he wondered if he shouldn't have said anything at all. "There's still so much to do. Granted we have a planner who will be doing the majority of the work but they still want me to pick colors and centerpieces and food. That reminds me… have you asked anyone to be your groomsmen or whatnot?"
"No," Natsu scoffed. "Are we supposed to?"
"I mean, it's our choice. I figured we shouldn't since it'll just be extra time and energy."
"Whatever you want," he murmured as he turned the wheel and drove down a particularly slippery road. "What about food and all that?"
"Moms have that handled. If you want something special you can let them know but I said I didn't care about the food or drink choices. But that also reminds me, we need to find some time to go cake tasting."
"Now that's something I'm willing to be part of."
"I knew you would be excited about it," she giggled again and she was adjusting the heater away from her. "So… just let me know when you have time and we could go."
"Just let me know whenever. I'll make time for you."
He missed the blush she had on her cheeks as he had made it back to his home, awaiting the opening of his gates so they could enter the large estate.
"So, uh, I've been meaning to ask what day you'd like to… host the ceremony?"
Natsu's eyes flickered over to her before they were back on the road. "Like the actual wedding day? I thought they figured that out for us."
"No. Remember, we have the year to get to know each other and then after the year they announce the engagement and then the wedding?"
"So, what? I'm confused."
Lucy sighed, shaking her head back and forth. "Never mind." She muttered and before he could ask she had changed the subject. "So, where are we sledding?" Lucy had asked as he drove up the driveway.
Natsu twisted his lip in a thoughtful way. "Backyard. We have this one hill in the back we like to sled on." He finally put the car in park and he turned to look at her. He was grateful he had a chance to really look at her because she was so cute and pretty in his passenger seat. "You look cute today."
"Today?" She teased and he rolled his eyes which made her bop his forehead with her gloved hands.
"I didn't know I did it!" He shouted as he swatted at her hand.
She shifted her body so she held her arms against her chest, facing him a lot more. "That's the point! You're trying to break the habit."
"It's contagious. It runs in the family."
"Oh, I know," she laughed, unbuckling herself from her seat. "And somehow before I even am a Dragneel, I am feeling the effects of the curse someone had casted upon the family."
"Guess you were always meant to be a Dragneel." He said so casually and he missed the way her face had flared up once more while he left the car. He watched how she hopped out of the car a minute later and she was just a puff ball he found way too cute. "You look like a marshmallow."
"I'm not trying to catch a cold again."
"Yeah, we don't need you out of commission for a month again." He scoffed while the two walked over to the door and entered the heated home. She only scrunched her face up, trying to swing at him but he had dodged her tiny fists.
"It wasn't a month!"
"Alright, half a month." He rolled his eyes again and Lucy was chasing him through the house while he laughed.
"Wendy!" Natsu called out, not bothering to even take his shoes off. "Lucy is here! Let's go!"
"Coming!" Her sweet song voice echoed down the hall and a bunch of thumping came closer till she was right at the top of the stairs. "Lucy!"
"Wendy!" The blonde brightened up immediately as she ran down the stairs and into the open arms of the heiress. "Hi Wendy! How have you been?" Lucy cooed as Wendy looked up at her with bright eyes.
"Good! I've been at home doing school work because of the snow. I'm glad you could come and sled with us!"
"Of course! Thanks for inviting me!"
"Now come on! Let's go!" Wendy grabbed her hand to tug her towards the door. "Natsu, could you grab the sleds and the tubes?"
"Why do I have to?" He whined, watching how his little sister dragged his girlfriend away.
"Because you're the boy! Boys are supposed to do the hard work!"
"Yeah! Get to it!" Lucy playfully wagged her finger at him and Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes while the two disappeared down the hall.
He couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he went back to the garage, looking for the sleds and tubes Wendy had wanted. He had to dig through some crap but he eventually found them shoved in the back. The tubes were slightly deflated so he made plans to blow them up once he had reunited with his sister and girlfriend. He pulled on the wooden sled by the string and piled the other cheap plastic ones on top so he could loop the deflated tubes around his body and arm. He felt like a dog, dragging the stupid things around to find Wendy and his girlfriend out in the backyard building what he assumed was a snowman. Wendy packed on the pure white snow on the bottom portion of the snowman, trying to build it up as Lucy had put on the torso on top of the large ball.
Once Wendy had caught sight of him, she beamed and forgot about her creation as she rushed over to grab the sleds from his hands and drag it right back to Lucy.
"Come on, Lucy! Let's race!"
"Hey, wait for me!" Natsu whined as he had finally trekked through the thick snow, his body growing hot underneath the layers of clothes he had on.
While Wendy had run off to climb up the steep hill, Lucy had waited for her boyfriend as she offered him a slight smile.
"Thanks for waiting," he grinned.
"You did bring the sleds after all," she said as she finally turned to walk up the hill once he had come next to her. "I'll help you blow up those tubes." She motioned towards the deflated tubes around his torso.
"Thanks," he said as he kicked the snow away. His eyes flickered over towards Wendy who was jumping up and down and waiting for the couple, her arms waving back and forth.
"Come on! Let's go! You're so slow!"
"How about you try to climb up with fifty pounds attached?"
"You are so dramatic," Wendy had rolled her eyes and Lucy had concluded the eye rolling was definitely a Dragneel thing and contagious. "Slow pokes."
"You won't be saying that when I beat your ass!" Natsu grinned wickedly as they had finally reached the top and he pulled the tubes off. He handed Lucy one while he popped open the top to the other one.
"No way! I'm winning!"
"No way, squirt! You're looking at the champion here!"
"I won last year!"
"You cheated! You got a head start!"
Lucy giggled as she watched Wendy and Natsu bicker back and forth like a couple of children.
She pinched the opening and blew into the inflatable for it to slowly grow tighter. Once she had finished with the tube, she gave it a squeeze to see if she needed to blow it up even more but the tightness gave her reassurance. She placed it down next to her and giggled as Wendy pouted and stomped her foot as Natsu snickered, pointing his finger in her face as she angrily swatted.
"Come on, guys. Pick your choice and we'll see who is crying when I win."
Wendy and Natsu gawked at her, seeing how she smirked while she crossed her arms across her chest. The two Dragneel siblings rushed to grab their sled of choice and Natsu had picked the wooden sled while Wendy went for the tube Lucy had blown up. Lucy picked the cheap plastic round sled and Natsu snorted, leaning against the wooden sled that was upright. "You do know we bought that crap for ten bucks at the store right? This shit isn't going to help you win."
"Who cares how much it costs? These bad boys only have one job and that is to take me down this hill." She hugged the round sled against herself, sticking her tongue out at him.
"All I'm saying is that it ain't gonna help you. You two are dumb for not wanting this one." Natsu snickered, holding up the nice wooden sled but Wendy was sticking her tongue out at her brother while she tried to adjust the tube accordingly.
"Don't speak too soon," Lucy warned as she found purchase next to Wendy, setting down her round sled. "Losers have to put away the sled!"
"Oh you're on!" Natsu shouted excitedly, setting his sled down next to Lucy's.
The three got ready, sliding into their own sleds as they steadied themselves and inched closer to the edge. Wendy grinned at Lucy when she turned to look and check up on her, her short legs dangling over the edge of the tube as she used her arms to keep her in place. She then turned to look at Natsu on her other side who had tucked himself on the wooden sled, his legs spread as both feet dug into the snow to keep him locked in. Lucy then looked down the hill where it seemed so much more steeper than it was and she let out a breath.
"Ready?"
"Three… two… one…" Natsu said as he looked over at Wendy before Lucy, his legs tucking back in the sled as he gave himself a push. "Go!"
The three were quick to descend down the hill, squeals of excitement and laughter filling the air as they slid down the hill. While Natsu's wooden sled gave him leverage, Lucy's plastic sled had more speed as she zipped between the two Dragneel siblings and she squealed as her entire body twirled in a circle. Wendy's tube was the slowest, the bluenette whining as she safely approached the bottom with her legs kicking back and forth.
Lucy barely had time to stop herself as she slid off and tumbled into the thick snow and Natsu was laughing out loud as he slid up to where she was tucked into the snow.
"You alright there?"
"I win!" She shouted, pulling her head out of the snow as the bits stuck to her hair. Her nose and cheeks glowed red from the coldness and he was grinning at her, coming over to help brush it off. "Now who said what about winning?"
"You win one time and think you're the best," He scoffed as he helped her up on her feet. "Best two out of three."
"I think we know my cheap sled is the fastest." Lucy planted her hands on her hips as she looked up at him with her eyebrow raised. "And you were talking all this crap about it."
"I want that one next!" Wendy shouted, rushing over with the tube bouncing behind her. "This was only a practice run!"
Natsu and Lucy could only exchange knowing looks before they were hiking back up the hill once more, finding their place to continue this endless competition.
—X—
After sledding for what seemed like hours, they had finished their snowman who had a crooked nose made out of a stick and thin arms out of branches. Natsu had picked at some pebbles he dug out from the backyard and Wendy had wrapped her scarf around the neck while Natsu placed his beanie on top to finish it off. The three had admired their snowman they called Plue (Lucy's idea) and then they had ventured back inside to bask in the warmth of the home.
Natsu had gathered the sleds and left them out on the patio, claiming they might want to go sledding again sometime later in the week and won the argument of putting them away. The three were like wet dogs, sweat and melted snow making their hairs stick to their foreheads and their bodies sleek with the warmth their clothes had given them. They had shed their first layer of coats and snow pants off, maids coming to their aid to help them with their wet clothes.
Wendy was gushing about how her and Lucy wore matching clothes, the blonde seeing the leggings and sweater on the younger Dragneel to grin and agree.
"Why don't you go pick a movie out for us, Wendy? I'll make you some hot chocolate—Heartfillia style." The blonde leaned down to wink and Wendy's eyes shimmered in delight before she was running off.
The blonde stood upright and sighed, seeing how the young girl who had such a lively spirit and enthusiasm disappeared around the corner. She turned to see Natsu running his hands through his hair and the wetness allowed it to stay the way he brushed it making him look like an Italian geezer.
Somehow, it made him look even more attractive and she shifted her weight to her left leg to stare up at him in deep thought.
"What?" He asked, coming to stand in front of her.
"Nothing," She hummed, eyes flickering from his hair to his eyes to his lips and then back to his eyes. "Just admiring the new hairstyle."
"I look good in anything." He said and Lucy scoffed, making him look at her with an offended expression. "Excuse you."
"I didn't even say anything."
"You made that noise," he said, pointing his finger in her face obnoxiously and she had swatted his hand away from her face. "And what's this about hearing you make hot chocolate?"
"I told Wendy I'd make her some of my moms famous hot chocolate." Lucy beamed, making her way towards the kitchen as Natsu followed.
"I thought you didn't know the recipe."
"I never said that." Lucy had brushed her baby hairs away from her face, coming to the sink to rinse her hands.
"You told me I need to talk to your mom if I wanted the recipe." He frowned while he came to the island, leaning against the counter top as he watched her.
"So where in that sentence did I say I didn't know the recipe?"
"Someone is sassy today." Natsu said with a teasing tone and Lucy winked at him.
"It's on the house."
"This is my house."
"It's actually your parents house." Lucy stated as she had pulled out a pot from underneath the cabinet, remembering where it was. "Do you have any chocolate and milk?"
"Is this your way of showing me the secret Heartfillia recipe?" He rounded the island to come over to his pantry, opening the large door to step inside their walk-in pantry that was color coded and organized in the most beautiful aesthetic way. Lucy didn't even respond as her jaw dropped, eyes scanning the entire pantry as if she was in Disney world. "Hello?" He called out as he dug through a basket full of bags of chocolate. "Milk chocolate, right?"
"Milk and dark." She said, coming over to him to look in the basket. Natsu felt tense with the way her body heat rolled off her body and he couldn't help but eye her secretly.
"Is that the secret?"
"It's not really a secret, Natsu," She laughed and the way she said his name made his heart throb. "It's just melted chocolate, half and half, and milk boiled down into a thick chocolate drink."
"Sounds too complicated." He followed her out of the pantry as Lucy set the bags down on the counter. He watched how she went to the fridge and pulled out what she needed and he somehow felt like this was normal in a way. As if he was watching his wife make him hot chocolate in their shared home.
It made him blush slightly and he cleared his throat. "So, when is this cake tasting?"
"I told you, whenever you are free." She said without even turning around and he pursed his lips.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow works, too." She had flashed a quick smile his way and he felt the tightness in his chest again. "And then maybe we can decide on the cake and get that over with."
"Okay then, tomorrow it is. Maybe we could grab some lunch, too." He shrugged, trying to appear cool.
"Okay," She looked over at him shyly, biting back the smile that was curling to her lips.
A comfortable silence had come between them and Natsu was enchanted with the way Lucy moved so comfortably in the kitchen. He was surprised she knew where most things were but he also liked how confident she looked as she pulled open drawers and turned on the stove to heat up the chocolate.
"So, about what you said earlier."
"What did I say earlier?" She turned to look at him, spoon in hand.
Natsu found her utterly adorable, his eyes glossing over her features. "About the wedding date."
"Okay, what about it?"
"I figured we could have a spring wedding."
"Why spring?" She asked, her back turned to him again as she was back to mixing the chocolate.
"The Sakura Trees are blooming in the spring and the rainbow one is really pretty." He had images of the tree coming to his mind and he could only think how beautiful Lucy would look next to them.
Lucy laughed lightly as she lowered the fire and dumped in more chocolate. "Okay, sure. That means we probably won't be wed till next year."
"Okay," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Could you believe it's already been six months, almost seven?" Lucy sighed as she kept mixing, her head shaking back and forth. "Feels like forever."
"In a bad way or good way?" Natsu asked and he didn't miss how the corners of her lips tugged upwards.
"Both." She turned to give him a mischievous smile and he found himself smiling right back.
He stood upright and rolled his neck around before he was making his way over to her side, peeking in the pot where a dark brown liquid swirled around and his stomach growled slightly at the scent of the sweet chocolate. But the scent of Lucy was what drove him even more tense than the chocolate and he was peeking down at her more than he was the pot. He turned his back to the counter and leaned against it, his arms crossing across his chest while his eyes went back and forth from her face to the pot.
"Where did Wendy go?" He asked, suddenly remembering his sister.
"I asked her to put on a movie for us while I made some hot chocolate." She said while she had uncapped the carton of milk to slowly pour some in while she continued mixing. "I figured I could watch a movie and then I can head back home."
"Sure," he felt bashful suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just let me know whenever you're ready to go."
"I will, thanks." She hummed in response, recapping the cartons before she was going back and forth to the fridge and stove.
Natsu had kept his position right beside her on the stove, half interested in what she was doing and half interested in her. She looked so natural and he found her incredibly attractive as he imagined her doing this for him and their kids one day. And then he caught her eye at the exact moment he thought about her being pregnant with his baby and he had flushed crimson. He whipped his head away, his eyes trying to find anything else to focus on but he knew she saw him blush and he was dreading the feeling of his heart pounding.
"What are you thinking about?" She had asked and he was quick to respond in a shriek.
"Nothing!"
—X—
Halfway through the movie, Natsu had found himself in a weird position. He felt trapped in a way as he had his girlfriend to his right, asleep and head nestled comfortably on his shoulder while on his left, he had his sister who was in the same exact position. The movie credits had begun to roll through and with the empty bowl of popcorn with the small handful of uncooked curdles, he could only think about the many ways he could get away from this.
The most obvious was to shake them both awake but he didn't want Lucy to pull away from him. He also wished Wendy wasn't here to ruin the mood because he had plans to shove his tongue down his girlfriend's throat but he wouldn't do that in front of the poor girl.
She was barely thirteen and he was sure she had no idea about anything concerning relationships.
His other option was to wake Wendy up and have her leave so he could wake Lucy on her own and or carry her to safety but he knew Lucy would wake if he tried that.
So he just sat there, lips pressed tightly and his hands cradling the empty bowl in his lap. He had for once watched the credits pass and then the screen had gone back to the Home Screen. He shifted his hand to move it to place it on Lucy's thigh and he could feel the warmth under his palm as he slightly shifted to see her snoozing face. He then shifted his head to the other side to see his sister snoozing away and he let out a sigh through his nose.
His luck was just getting shitter every day.
He tensed up when he felt Lucy move and he slowly turned to see her coming out of her slumber, her face scrunched up in a cute way and he watched how her eyes fluttered open. Her expression had confusion written all over it as she pulled away to his dismay, her arms stretching over her head as she yawned.
"The movie is over?"
"It's been." He said, voice barely a hush as he kept his hand on her thigh. "You and Wendy fell asleep."
"Huh," Lucy said, leaning over to see Wendy had fallen asleep and she smiled softly. "We must have been tired from sledding." She yawned once more and Natsu found himself yawning along with her. "Sorry for falling asleep."
"Not a big deal." He shook his head as his hand slipped away when she had moved to get up. He frowned at the loss, seeing how she had stood to stretch even further. She had started to gather the blankets and he let out a sigh, turning to look at his sister and gently shake her awake. "Wendy. Wake up."
She whined in her sleep and Natsu huffed. "Wendy, get up."
"Stop it, Natsu," She whined, pushing his hand away that was on her shoulder.
"Wendy, the movie is over. You need to get up."
Wendy had sighed out loud and picked her head up, a fist coming up to her eye to rub it tiredly. "What? The movie is over?"
"It's been." He repeated himself and finally had the chance to move away as his body felt stiff from the position. He stood up and groaned, stretching out his limbs as his joints popped. "I don't know why you wanted to watch a movie if you were going to just fall asleep."
"I guess sledding made me tired," The blue-haired Dragneel yawned, standing up to stretch as well. "I'm going to head to bed. Bye Lucy, thanks for spending the day with me." She offered a lazy smile, coming over to easily wrap her arms around the blonde who hugged her right back.
"Sweet dreams, Wendy. I'll be back before you know it." She cooed, rubbing her hand up and down her back which made her grin.
"You good to drive me back home?" Lucy asked as she had finished folding the blankets and tossing them on the sofa.
Natsu just nodded, rolling his neck back and forth to feel it crack and loosen up. "Yeah, just let me get my pants on." He grumbled and he picked up the bowl of popcorn while Lucy had gathered up the empty mugs of hot chocolate.
The couple had silently made their way up the stairs of the basement and down the hall to the kitchen, discarding the empty cups in the sink and bowl.
"I'm just going to throw on some sweats and come back," Natsu said, jamming his thumb behind him as he waited for her response.
Lucy just yawned, nodding in acknowledgement. "Okay, I'll be here. I'll try to see if I can find my snow pants they took earlier or maybe I can just get them tomorrow."
"Tomorrow might be best," he said and Lucy nodded again before he had ventured off to his room to find a pair of pants.
He kept wondering how he could mention anything to Lucy about wanting to be more intimate with one another. He wanted the phone calls and the hand holding and the kissing and everything in between. Everytime he sees her and they're together, he feels so warm and antsy. His fingers always twitch and he has this urge to wrap his arms around her or kiss her senseless and it is so hard when she isn't showing any type of signs of wanting any of that.
It drove him crazy and he shouldn't feel this way because she was his girlfriend and wife-to-be but ever since he and Lucy had slept together, he felt like he had to keep his hands to himself or one of them might explode.
It's not like he didn't want to do it again, that was really what he thought about doing the majority of the time but he also wanted her to be the one to pull the move this time. But it seems as if she was fine living her life away from him with the way his phone was radio silent.
Coming down the stairs of his home, Natsu found Lucy waiting for him by the garage door, her snow boots already tied on her feet and her large puffer jacket swallowing her whole. Her earmuffs were back over her ears and she smiled so cutely at him he couldn't help himself any longer. He walked right over to her to grab her by the face to plant a kiss on her lips.
His body tingled and grew warm with the relief he felt and he didn't linger or deepen it at all. All he needed was a kiss and he felt content as he pulled away for her to look up at him with such a cute pout and blush.
"Sorry, I've just been wanting to do that all day." He admitted and she grew even more red. "Since New Years, actually."
"T—then why didn't you just say something?" Her voice was nothing but a whine and he really wanted to kiss her again.
He shrugged his shoulders, his thumb brushing against the hotness of her cheek. "I don't know…" His voice dropped down to a whisper and his eyes were going between her lips to her eyes. "I just…" He struggled to confess and Lucy's expression shifted, her eyebrows knitting together. "I just feel like…"
"Feel like what?" She asked, her own voice soft and gentle as he pressed his lips into a tight line.
He let out a deep sigh and he pulled away from her, a slight blush creeping up his neck. "Nothing, it's… nothing. Let's go before it gets too dark."
He didn't give her a chance to say anything else as he walked out the garage door in a rush, not bothering to hold the door open for her as he bent down to shove his feet back into the snow boots he had earlier. He didn't bother tying them as he stomped his feet into the shoes, making his way over to the SUV as he heard the door behind him open and close. He at least opened the door for her and held it as she slowly came over, her eyes watching him skeptically as she climbed in.
He tried not to show his emotions as he went around and climbed in the chilly car once more, the silence deafening as he fumbled with the keys.
The roar of the engine and the sounds of Lucy buckling herself was the only thing heard as the lights turned on and the radio came back on. Natsu had put the car in reverse and wrapped his arm around Lucy's seat, twisting his torso to reverse out of the garage before they were back on the road to Lucy's.
"What were you trying to say back there?" Lucy spoke up as she had her hands squeezed between her thighs, her head turning to look at the side profile of her boyfriend who frowned.
"What a way to corner a guy," He joked as he kept his eyes on the road. "It's snowing, again." He pointed out, trying to change the subject.
"I want to know what you were going to say," she ignored his comment and she could see how his eyebrows pinched together. "It seemed important."
"It's not."
"Doesn't seem like it."
His expression turned into a scowl and she saw how he flashed her a heated look before his eyes were back on the road. "I told you it's not a big deal. Drop it."
"No." Her voice had become hard, confident. "Tell me."
"No." His voice matched hers, voice dropping in an octave.
"What is your problem?" She had twisted to look at him, identical scowls on their faces. "I just want to know."
"Some things aren't worth mentioning."
"And you think this is one of those things?"
"Yes."
Silence between them again and he could see how Lucy had glared at him, her pretty little mouth open in a way he wanted to fill it with more than his tongue and he growled into the darkness.
"Natsu," her voice was stern and his grip had tightened around the steering wheel. "I don't know why you think talking about your feelings is not a big deal. I want to know what you were going to say."
"Why?" He asked and the silence had absorbed them once more. "Why can't you just leave it at this? I told you it's not important and I asked you to drop it and you insist on it."
"You're being such an ass for no reason."
"Because you keep pressing me about this."
"I don't see what the big deal even is. You clearly had something to say and now suddenly you're backing out of it because you're scared."
Natsu scoffed. "I'm not scared."
"Then why don't you just tell me what you were going to say?" She asked a bit aggressively, narrowing her eyes at his profile. "We're supposed to be a couple and you hiding your feelings isn't going to help anyone." Natsu's expression soured and he was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were turning white. "I just wanted to know what you were going to say—"
"I said to drop it!" He finally had raised his voice where he could see how she had flinched at the sound of his voice. He immediately felt bad but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to further the damage.
A silence filled the car and the drive was awkward, the tension so thick it could be sliced with a spoon.
"Fine," her voice wavered slightly and she had crossed her arms across her chest as she shifted her body to face the window. "Sorry that I care."
Natsu let out a sigh and he slowed down, pulling over to the side of the road where he had parked the car. The soft tunes from the radio played to lessen the deafening awkward silence and tension between them but it was still suffocating as Natsu twisted his body to look at his upset girlfriend. Her knees were pressed against the door, her head twisted to face the window, her bottom lip pushed out in an angry pout, and her arms crossed her chest.
He still thought she was super pretty and he could only shake his head. "Lucy—"
"Save it." She snapped, twisting her head further away. "Clearly we aren't where I thought we were."
Natsu scrunched his face up in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing." She spat and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her behavior. "Take me home."
"What do you mean that we aren't where you thought we were?" He ignored her request and he was greeted by silence. "Lucy."
"Oh, so you can demand answers from me but I can't?" She scoffed, the leather underneath her squeaking as she moved further away from him. "Get out of my face."
"You're being a brat." He found himself feeling irritated as he leaned back halfway on the door and halfway against his seat to face her.
"And you're being an asshole."
"You clearly have something to say."
"And you clearly have something to say." She glared at him and Natsu was groaning, slapping his hands against his face to drag it down slowly.
"You are so infuriating sometimes."
"I could say the same about you," She hissed, sticking her nose up at him. "Asshole."
"Brat." He said through gritted teeth.
"Douchebag."
"Bitch."
Lucy whipped her head to look at him with a dark gaze, her lips twisted into a frown. "I can't believe you. Take me home already!"
"If I tell you what I was going to say, are you going to tell me what you meant?"
"No! I don't care anymore!" She raised her voice at him, the same way he had. "Take me home!"
Natsu let out a loud groan, tossing his arms up in the air as he wondered why he was given such shit luck this year when it came to his girlfriend. Fighting was nothing abnormal with these two but he honestly thought they had a good thing going for the past couple weeks but he'll be damned.
"What is this?" He asked, voice gruff and almost angry.
"What?" She spat at him and he let out a sigh through his nose to calm his nerves.
"What is this? Us? I don't fucking get it."
She turned to look at him, her face scrunched up in anger and confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Us!" He shouted and he felt a bit bad how she flinched once more. "I don't know what we are. What this is! We don't talk or call or hang out. We don't go on dates or do anything that couples do even though I confessed my feelings for you—" he watched how Lucy's expression had shifted to a somewhat baffled look. "—and yet we're still the same from day one. Sitting in the fucking car calling each other names and yelling at one another so tell me, Lucy, what the fuck are we?"
Lucy scoffed, rolling her head to turn it back to look at him in a fury. "Funny how this is coming from the same guy who is enabling this behavior!"
"How am I enabling this?!" He threw his arms out, eyebrows pinched together.
"I don't see you calling or texting me, either. I haven't been asked out on a date nor have I received an invitation to hang out. You clearly don't show any signs that you want me to hold your hand or give you a kiss or even talk or do whatever the hell couples do! How could you sit there and yell at me for not doing those things when you don't even do them?! You're the guy! You should be the one initiating these!" She shouted, face red from anger and embarrassment. "For the millionth fucking time: I am inexperienced! I do not know how to initiate or do any of this! My heart wants to explode everytime you look at me and my stomach does this stupid thing everytime you laugh or talk to me. I wish you'd call or text me more. I wish you'd hold my hand and kiss me hello or kiss me goodbye but I'm not some desperate girl who is going to chase after you and cry about what the hell we are!"
Natsu felt so overwhelmed and suffocated as he shut off the heat and let out a loud, deep sigh. He ran his hand up his face and through his hair as he listened to Lucy pant from frustration and from her long rant.
"You are so stupid."
"Excuse me—?!"
"You think I'm confusing?! How about yourself?!" He turned to look at her again, pressing his hand against his chest. "You think I don't want to call or text or ask you to hang out? You don't think I'm sitting here wondering if you want to kiss me as much as I do or you miss me as much as I do when I'm alone in my thoughts?! You are so stupid!"
"Don't call me stupid!" Lucy cried out. "How the hell am I supposed to know if you don't say anything?!"
"And how am I supposed to know if you don't say anything?!"
Humiliated and angry, the two were both panting out of frustration after their little screaming match. They stared at one another, emotions at an all time high while the radio played some upbeat music. It was like some sort of staring match and and in a flash Natsu was reaching for her and she was reaching for him and they were kissing as if they were starved for years.
Their hands were going everywhere, trying to grab onto something as they didn't know what was going on besides the fact that they needed to be close.
Natsu had unbuckled her seatbelt, pulling her towards him as Lucy crawled over the center console, their lips still attached to his. He had unbuckled his own seatbelt, taking off the restriction and kissing her so hotly the car started to feel warmer as if the heater had been turned back on. He was stripping her off her jacket, yanking down the zipper as she unzipped his, tongue dancing and breathing accelerating at their tasks.
"Lucy," he said in between breaths as her ear muffs got knocked off. "I want to have you in this car. Right now." He said and Lucy shivered, her face growing crimson at his brazen words. "But I need to know if you're alright with it. If you want this, too."
Lucy barely had time to breath or respond as his mouth kept closing in on hers. She just didn't say anything but kiss him hard, her heart thundering inside of her chest.
"Yes," She moaned as he pulled on her bottom lip. "Yes, I do. I want it. I want you."
And that was all Natsu needed to hear before he was stripping her of her clothes and kissing her so hotly.
Notes: sometimes I wish this was a M rated fanfic… just use your imaginations kiddos. Thanks for reading. See you next chapter x