Lessons in Love » NaLu A.U.

chapter » thirteen

If there was one thing Natsu could deliver on, it was subpar packaged noodles. If there were two things, it would be subpar packaged noodles and relentless flirting.

It was not even good enough to be classified as 'flirting' to Lucy. They sat together on the couch watching sitcoms on television, and occasionally Natsu would reach over and give her a comforting squeeze of her leg or his arm around her shoulders. He was so close, it was as if he skipped the flirt and went straight to the dating.

Lucy almost choked on her soup at the thought of them dating. They were such an odd couple: just two people that had never been on a date but somehow felt alright to bask in each other's company.

"You done?" Natsu asked. The blonde hummed softly as she snapped from her daydream, only to find Natsu gesturing to the empty bowl of ramen.

Nodding, Lucy wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "Yes." She said, and Natsu took her dish and stood up already to take it away. "Bring me back a napkin, please."

He saluted her childishly before disappearing into the kitchen. Once he was gone, Lucy reached over onto the coffee table and pumped a small dot of hand sanitizer into her palm.

"You know I try not to get mad at you for bathing in that stuff," Natsu began, slightly startling Lucy as he jumped over the back of the couch and sat down again with napkin in hand, "but it's hard to ignore when all I can smell is 'japanese cherry blossoms' and alcohol."

Lucy was about to apologize before she realized that it would have been ingenuine. "I like the smell." She said quietly in her defense.

The pink haired boy only chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her. "Sure you do." His head nodded slowly as he leaned into her.

Still rubbing her palms together, Lucy's chest ached with the tightness of Natsu's intimacy. She begged herself not to care about it, and for a moment her eyes stared at his lips and she thought she had won.

As if realizing her affliction, Natsu leaned down the rest of the way and pressed his lips against hers. He smelled oddly like cinnamon--no, like autumn. It was a fine season to get lost in. The colors were her favorite.

Lucy waited a moment, their lips meshing together softly, before she gingerly raised up her hands and slid them around the nape of the other boy's neck.

She swore she felt Natsu's lips curl up into a smile as she did so. The small gesture she made drove him further; Natsu grabbed Lucy and turned her more towards him. She let out a subtle breath of air as Natsu settled his body between her legs, her head laying on the armrest of the sofa.

Natsu's hand slid along the edge of her thigh. His fingertips were warm even through the fabric of her jeans. She needed more--not to feel his hands on her, but for her to feel him. He was so familiar with her body, more than even herself, but he had yet to be mapped.

Lucy's fingertips ran along his neck, falling down to the slope of his shoulders. From there her touch slid along the safe base of his checkered scarf to the curve of his biceps. Natsu's body tensed at the surreal sensation of her reciprocating the attention.

Moments passed with nothing more than hungry bites to each other's now swollen lips before the blonde mustered the courage to let her hands wander.