Understanding My Heart

Chapter 21

"Luce... What are you..." he began but she pressed a finger to his lips. She smiled and motioned for him to make room for her. The fire dragonslayer blushed, but moved back in the tub so that she'd have room between his legs. She gingerly stepped into the hot water, nervousness making her hands shake a little. She settled herself between his legs before carefully turning around to face him. His eyes were wide and hazy with a combination of curiosity and lust, and his lips were slightly parted as he waited for her to do whatever she was going to do. She smiled gently at him and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"Let me help you get cleaned up," she said softly. The slayer nodded and she went to work, gently scrubbing the caked mud and blood off of him. The bath got dirty very quickly. Noticing this, Natsu rose and drained the water, turning on the shower head instead. The warm water pelted them both as Lucy continued to clean away the dirt and blood. She was intensely aware of his gaze on her as she worked... Even as she cleaned away the blood from the various scratches on his back she felt him looking over his shoulder at her... She hesitated before she began on his front. In her dreams Lucy had been confident and eager to touch him...and while she was no less eager now, she was a little nervous when it came to touching him for real...

Hesitantly she reached out, one hand holding the soap-covered sponge and the other empty. Her fingers gently brushed across his chest and she heard him inhale slightly at the touch.

Natsu's POV

He inhaled sharply as her fingers brushed against his chest. Her touches had been so gentle along his back that he had barely felt them, just a soothing pressure running along his back and washing the grime away. Now she was becoming a little bolder, and her touch on his chest was more confident than before. He didn't take his eyes off her as she slowly began to clean away the filth on his chest, taking care not to open any cuts she found further. He sighed as her free hand wiped away the soap and dirt...

"Lucy..." he murmured, as she finished getting him cleaned up. She looked up at him shyly, trying to cover herself as they stood naked in the shower. He caught her wrists in his hands and he shook his head, lowering them to her sides. "No... Let me see you..." he said quietly, almost in a whisper. Her breathing quickened as he looked her up and down, taking everything in. She was so beautiful...

Lucy shivered as the water began to get colder. Seeing this, Natsu shut off the spray and grabbed two towels from the rack beside the shower, making sure to grab an older one for himself in case any of his injuries were still bleeding. He followed Lucy into the bedroom once they'd dried and wrapped the towels around themselves, his heart beating rapidly. It was dark outside, the only light coming from the pale moon as it rose over Magnolia. Natsu watched as she turned slowly towards him... She moonlight made her look truly angelic... Her skin glowed softly and her hair shone in the pale radiance of the moon...

"Beautiful..." he murmured as he took a hesitant step forwards. He took another step when she didn't move. Then another. After a few moments he was directly in front of her, looking down into her upturned face as she gazed up at could see the lust in her eyes, and knew that she could see the same in his. He slowly leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips... She responded almost instantly by wrapping her arms around his bare neck... (He had left Igneel's scarf at home the previous day because Mira and Lisanna had insisted that it wasn't romantic at all) She tasted ever sweeter than she had in his dreams... He groaned into the kiss and pulled her flush against his body. She whimpered and clung to him ever more tightly, her nails digging into his back.

Gently Natsu picked her up and set her down on the bed. He straightened up and just looked at her as the moonlight fell on her... She was heartbreakingly beautiful in that moment... Every detail of that one perfect moment was etched into his memory until the day he died...