Lessons in Love » NaLu A.U.

chapter » fourteen

Natsu had almost fallen asleep at Lucy's apartment. It was shortly before midnight when the television had begun to cut in and out, and the loud static noise had woken both of them up.

During their nap, the two of them had tangled their limbs together. Natsu was laying on the smaller blonde--which she was not fond of, especially due to the drool patch he left on her sleeve--with her legs and his resting together on the coffee table in front of them.

Neither of them denied Natsu needing to go home, though it was clear Natsu could easily have put up a fight to stay. Lucy yawned quietly to herself as they walked out of her apartment. She walked him to the elevator, watching him press the down button on the wall.

"Thanks for walking me home." Natsu smiled his signature idiot grin.

Even despite how tired Lucy was, she couldn't help but smile. "Only fifty percent of the way."

Natsu just gave her a small shrug. "No matter. You're quite the gentleman."

Lucy's laugh turned into a quiet snort. The sound made her blush slightly, especially when she noticed Natsu's onyx eyes widen from him hearing the same sound. Before he could say anything, she kicked his shin. "What?" Natsu yelped in defense.

The doors to the elevator pulled apart with the well-known high pitched chime as always. Natsu, stepping inside, swayed side to side as he looked back at Lucy. "I had a great time tonight."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lucy replied, "I think I'm the one supposed to be saying those things."

Natsu appeared genuinely appalled. "Says who?"

Lucy cocked her head to the side as she thought. "Every movie with romantic involvement ever made?"

Chewing his bottom lip as if to contemplate this, Natsu eventually gave a small shrug. "I'm not one for tradition."

The brass doors to the elevator made another small chime as they began to close. Immediately, the pink haired boy inside made a soft frown. Sticking his hand through the gap to block the doors from closing, Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist.

"What's wrong?" Perplexed, the blonde looked at Natsu as he held onto her.

He simply shrugged one more time before saying, "We never properly said good night."

Another smile spread over Lucy's lips. "You get any clingier and you'll start acting like one of Gray's fangirls." She mused, both her and Natsu stepping closer until they stood on the border of the elevator.

Natsu rolled his dark eyes at her words. "He only has, like one fan, and of course he would. He's such a cheap stripper, it's--"

Before he could continue rambling, Lucy cut him off. "Is Gray really a stripper?" She asked quickly.

The pink haired boy quickly piped down. He thought carefully before saying, "Not my place to tell ya."

"You guys say that a lot. It's annoying, I ha--" Lucy began to scold him, but Natsu just pulled Lucy closer to him.

His lips pressed down against her own, silencing the string of complaints that were about to fly past them. It didn't take long for Lucy's chocolate eyes to shut, her hands tugging at Natsu's as he held her.

The doors made yet another chime as they began to close. Natsu quickly pushed Lucy apart from him, and the last thing she saw before they shut was his glowing smile. He even chirped an energetic, "Good night, Luce!" at her.

The blonde stepped back from the elevator, her fingers running through her hair. She needed to brush it. She needed to shower. For once she didn't quite mind skipping it, though she wasn't sure if it was because of Natsu or how tired she was.