Lessons in Love » NaLu A.U.

chapter » twenty four

Lucy thought that the longer she stayed out in the cold the more accustomed to it she would grow. That certainly was not the case.

Despite the chill that tried its hardest to bite and burrow through her coat and the blankets Natsu laid over her and around himself as well, the company and conversation was oddly stimulating, stimulating enough that occasionally Lucy would forget her fears of catching a cold.

Of all things that surprised her, she didn't expect Natsu to be so verbal. He was always talkative, that was true, but there were times like this that they were alone when Natsu would embody either of two personalities; one would be quiet and calm, laying together and close, and the second would be a waterfall of words from the lips of his Lucy couldn't stop staring at.

Today, Natsu had brought up music. He wanted to play something but had nowhere to plug in speakers of a charger if his phone died. Lucy assured him it would be no problem as long as Natsu didn't try to sing to make up for it.

"What do you listen to?" Natsu had asked. He was so bold and curious of the things she liked, a selfless trait Lucy found to be rare in both others and herself.

She gave a weak shrug of her shoulders, yet they were piled under a coat and two thick blankets so it seemed she hadn't moved at all. "I listen to a lot really. I think it depends on my mood and what I'm doing."

Natsu shifted a little bit towards her so they were no longer shoulder-to-shoulder. "And what would those marvelous activities be?"

Lucy had to commend him on the seeming impressive vocabulary tonight. Usually 'marvelous activities' would be 'cool stuff.' She shrugged again. "I just like background music. The quiet unnerves me. Like when I'm writing or studying."

The pink haired boy smiled in relief. "What a coincidence, I also hate the quiet."

"Oh, I don't hate it. Sometimes it's nice, especially after listening to you jabber all day." Lucy rocked to the side and nudged his shoulder with hers. "But whenever I'm trying to write or to think about something, it's like the thoughts in my head are too loud. Music calms them down."

Just for a moment, Natsu sat still in a quiet awe. "Your mind is an exceptional place."

"So it tells me." Lucy's cheeks dimpled with a restrained smile. "Things are just easier to follow when you already have a rhythm."

Natsu pushed some of his shaggy hair away from his brow before shedding one of the blankets as if he was hot. "What kind of music calms those screeching thoughts of yours? Contemporary? R&B? Extreme heavy metal?" He tucked the blanket over Lucy's frame, his arm hanging around her shoulders for an added moment of warmth.

"Kinda, sorta, and definitely not." Lucy's voice was warm with a slight laugh. "And not any of that cheesy pop crap either. I like the way guitars sound, and people with strong but steady voices."

Head tilted back slightly, Natsu looked up at the sky as if asking it for answers. "So the lady likes calming acoustic. I can find that fitting enough."

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. "Especially the song 'Hothead' by The Thunder Gods. Have you heard it?"

A pair of pitch black eyes locked with Lucy's before Natsu nodded his head and, very seriously, said, "I am great at singing that melody."