"Wait what?"
"I'm not going to work with you today," Natsu repeated with a smile. He watched her owlishly blink at him before she quickly jumped at the chance to leave his side. If he wasn't used to her behavior his irritation would have caused him to lash out. Lucy quickly gathered her stuff and slammed the door behind her. Now he had plenty of time to figure out how he was going to ask her on a date.
During his few moments of lucidity, he remembers his parents. How they used to stare at one another and how his father used to take his mother out on dates. When his dark desires weren't clouding his judgments, Natsu realized he longed for Lucy to look at him the way his mother looked at his father. He'd almost had it before he fucked it up, the need to mark her, torment her was always a compulsion. The harder he fought it the further down he seemed to sink into the depravity and it wasn't like he had anyone to turn to to help him sort through the tangle of his emotions and thoughts. With a deep sigh, Natsu could admit it was slightly easier to think without Lucy around him, though it also drove him crazy. He constantly wanted to keep her in his view.
The pinket had to clench his hands and turn away from the fireplace, the urge to see if he could still spy on her passing like a rash. He had to pull it together if he eventually wanted to gain Lucy's affection. He didn't think he could take the cold shoulder she gave him or the look of apprehension and fear she threw in his direction. He missed the brief moments when she was awake and relaxed around him. Shaking his head he decided to focus on his plan to seduce her.
It had taken him a few hours to figure out what he thought she'd like the most. He'd hunted down more fire lilies and covered her bedroom in flowers; he always liked watching her stick her nose in the large blooms and breathe in. His chest hurt when she rubbed her cheeks against the soft petals and sighed. He was hoping for that reaction again. Natsu found himself pacing in her kitchen, he was starting to feel fuzzy again. His thoughts continued to twist and morph in his mind, whispering sweet delusions. the front door opening and shutting had him smiling and forgetting about the looming danger of his desires sweeping him under again.
oOo
Lucy couldn't help the tension she felt creeping up her spine and settling on her shoulders. While work wasn't her favorite place to be, today's atmosphere seemed lighter than it had since Natsu started accompanying her. While Lucy had to admit he had kept his word to keep his hands mostly to himself, she found she wasn't minding his smaller touches here and there.
She could swear his eyes sparkled happily as he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. Her body wanted to relax around him but her mind kept her body feeling wired and strung out. Constantly being on alert was draining, especially since she was starting to feel like she had no reason to be; whether that was true or not, she wouldn't know until it was too late like every other time. She'd be stupid to let her guard down for it to happen again.
Yet a part of her couldn't seem to help the desire to be near him. No matter how much she reminded herself of his cruelty to herself and others. Just because he was sweet right now didn't mean he couldn't revert like he constantly did. Lucy desperately wished she could get rid of the demonic dragon that had tied them together. With a deep sigh, she continued her walk down the street, fighting the urge to stall. The longer she took to make it back to her townhouse the quicker he was likely to find her; She wasn't in the mood to pacify his temper. With every footfall closer, her anxiety shot up; Natsu had seemed excited for her to leave this morning so she could only imagine what he was planning. Maybe she should find somewhere else to go for the night, consequences be damned….except her mother was in that house. And she loved her house, she just was wary of Natsu.
Soon she was pushing her way through her front door. The silence that greeted her had her pausing. Maybe if she was lucky he would be gone, but she also felt unhappy about that. She was so deep in thought she didn't notice Natsu approach her. His frame stopped in front of her and the door closed, trapping her between the wood and her demon. Her body warmed almost instantly and she shrunk back, attempting to flee the feeling.
"Heya Luce," Natsu almost hummed, leaning down to brush his lips lightly along the curve of her cheek before backing up and smiling excitedly. "How was work? I got something to show you!"
"Was fine…" the blonde found herself mumbling, caught off guard by the sweet gesture before sliding around him and practically jogging up the stairs to keep distance between them. "Surprise? Where?"
"Why would I ruin it? Why don't you change and we go out to dinner?"
"Mmm," Lucy hummed and pointedly ignored the way his eyes seemed to light up at the noise. "Wait here. I'm serious Natsu."
"Yeah okay." He agreed but continued to follow closely behind her. The apprehensive look she shot him over her shoulder was met with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Lucy felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and jerked her eyes forward. She hesitated at the door to her bedroom; her mind screaming that it was dangerous to be trapped back there with him. He seemed off, something wasn't right. She just couldn't put her finger on it. "What's wrong Luce?" The brush of his body against hers had her jerking forward, her front slamming into the front of the door. She tried to step back but froze when she felt Natsu step closer to her. "What are you doing?"
"I…" She took a deep breath before trying to continue, "Please back up." Her throat felt dry, she mentally counted the seconds that passed. "I can't open the door like this." Another beat passed and she had space and was quick to throw the door open and rush forward. This was going exactly the way she didn't want. Why did her brain always scramble around him?
Lucy was, once again, taken aback by the sheer amount of rich-smelling blooms decorating her bedroom. Every inch of furniture was covered: bed, desk, nightstand, armchair, and open bookshelf space. She stood there stunned, jumping when Natsu brushed up against her. He seemed pleased with himself and she once again shot forward away from him and grabbed a flower on her way to the bathroom. "I told you to stay downstairs."
"I wanted to see your reaction." The pink-haired thorn in her side responded; she felt his eyes on her when she brought the flower to her nose. They did smell wonderful.
"I want to change,"
"Then change,"
"Without you in the room."
"Aw, you're no fun," said with a fangy smile that had her pulse spiking. She cleared her throat and thought about locking herself in the bathroom before things got too bad. "Thinking of running, Luce?"
"No," she froze when he took a step towards her. "Natsu, I want to change."
"So change," He shrugged, moving closer still. "What are you so worried about? I won't touch you unless you ask me to." Lucy jumped as his fingers ghosted over her hip.
"You just said you wouldn't touch me!"
"Hurry up Luce," something in his voice had her rushing toward the bathroom, the door slamming quickly behind her.
Lucy took twenty minutes to get her heart rate back under control. Her fight or flight had her debating if climbing out the tiny bathroom window was worth it. Would the fall hurt? Maybe she was over reacting. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She felt like she was going to be sick. She still hadn't changed and she could only imagine how impatient Natsu was growing. Another deep breath. A pounding on the door made her yelp.
"Luce! How much longer are you going to take?"
"I-I-" she found herself stammering, eyes darting around. She didn't even have a change of clothes. "I'll be out in a second."
"I don't believe that," a loud sigh, "open the door Luce, we're going to be late."
"Late?"
"Open the door." His voice had her hesitating, why did he sound so…strained?
"I…I will when you leave."
"I don't want to ask again. Open the door."
"You're scaring me…" Lucy managed, taking a few tentative steps toward the door before stopping. No response had her sighing in relief before shrieking when the door slammed open.
"I asked nicely," huffed out annoyed. Lucy stiffened when his eyes roamed over her, eyebrow raising. "What happened to changing?"
"I was, I just….you were too much. I needed a second."
"Fair." A silence before his hands were tugging her closer. "Need help changing?"
"NO!"
"So loud," Natsu chuckled, dipping his head to bite her lower lip. "Let me pick out your outfit."
"Stop messing around!" Lucy hissed, shoving away from him and glaring. She was getting sick of his constant teasing and unwanted touches. "Touch me again and I'm going to.." She faltered.
"Going to what?" She felt cornered as he stepped back into her space. "What could you possibly do Luce?"
"I-I.."
"Use your words," Natsu practically purred, his hands running through her hair. "What are you going to do, Luce?"
oOo
Her trembling had him wanting to tease her more, but he was skating a fine line. The second he bit her lip and she whimpered he was stumbling. For the first time in months, she challenged him. Bared her fangs and looked annoyed. It made him want to push her more.
"What are you going to do, Luce?" He murmured, fingers combing through her hair. Natsu couldn't help but step more into her space, pressing against her. She trembled lightly.
"Stop playing!" Lucy hissed again, her hands shoving at his chest. He almost didn't notice her shaking. He wanted to laugh.
"Who said I'm playing?" He did laugh when she froze. He continued to wrap her hair around his hand, keeping her close and leaning more into her space. "Want me out of your space? Kiss me, Luce."
"Excuse me?" He just stared at her. The annoyance on her face had him smiling which had her shoving at him again. Natsu couldn't help but brush his mouth over hers lightly before going still again. He waited, rather impatiently. Finally she leaned forward and brushed her mouth across his lightly, he groaned but stepped back, her hair sliding from his hand.
"See, was that so hard?"
"Now will you leave?"
"Fine, you have ten minutes before I come back in here." He relished in the way her face flushed briefly.
Natsu was amused and irritated at the same time. Amused because she had shyly kissed him but irritated because he still felt she was wary around him. She was currently lost in her mind, being dragged behind him through sparse words.
The pink-haired man tried not to show his annoyance at her apprehension to step through the fireplace with him; he'd tried his best to remain patient while he tried to coax her through.
"Where are we?" Lucy's hushed voice brought him from his thoughts. The smile he flashed her had her averting her gaze and fidgeting nervously.
"Almost there." A few more steps and then he stopped, turning to face the blonde nervously looking around, "Relax, you'll love this." With that he was tugging her forward, through the tree-line into a wild open field. The night was clear, the moon large and the stars sparkling. Natsu couldn't help but watch the wonder cross her face before she was looking back at him uncertainly.
"What?" his blonde asked nervously, attempting to pull her hand away. He struggled with himself before letting her hand go and attempting to look nonchalant.
"I just thought you'd want to go star gazing." He smiled when she eyed him skeptically. Soon enough her gaze was back on the sky, tracing out constellations and seeming to ignore him. Natsu decided that was okay, especially since she hadn't looked this excited in a long time; sometimes he forgot what it was like when she wasn't wary of him, how it changed her expression. She looked less tired. A part of him was sad it got to this point but another part of him wanted to make her jump. Her eyes should be on him.
He just needed to remember patience, hard as hell with his temper being all over the place but what else could he do.
Maybe this is what he should have done the entire time. He was able to touch her without traumatizing her; maybe there was something to be said for patience. Maybe he could worm his way back into her grace. She didn't realize it but she slowly letting her guard down. He just had to wait it out and push her lightly. Maybe….this still wasn't right. His head was spinning again, this was right. This….wasn't right.
Why did nothing ever feel right?
Author's Note: BUCKLE UP EVERYONE. this has a max of 8 chapters I'm willing to write for it. Things are about to progress rather quickly now, I have a few unresolved and open-ended story parts that need to be resolved. Again sorry for the long wait between updates. I have to be in a particular mood to write this story.