The Demon's Concubine

Chapter 4

"Was out dealing with some thieves. I'll wash up after we eat, but there's someone I want ya to meet first."

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked down at herself, now caring about her state of undress. "Will I have a moment so I'm not so indecent?" 

"Well actually, he's already in the room."

Lucy began frantically looking past Natsu's shoulders to try to see into the room. "He!? There's a man that you want me to meet? Why!?" 

Natsu laughed as he placed his hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking her a bit until she calmed down. He remained silent as guided Lucy into the room by her wrist, the blonde hesitantly following. 

Upon entering, Lucy's eyes landed on a blue creature that looked like a cat. It was stuffing its face with what looked like fish. She stared at the cat for a moment, cringing when she saw it was making a mess as it ate on the bed.

"Natsu?"

"Yea?"

"What am I looking at?"

Natsu laughed as he looked at his little blue friend. He assumed she'd never seen an Exceed before, so this was expected.

"Oi, Happy! Come say hi!" 

The cat looked up from his food and flew over to the pair, a single fish still in his mouth. 

"Happy, this is Lucy. Lucy, this is Happy." Natsu looked at his friends excitedly as Lucy was still wrapping her head around what exactly Happy even is. 

"Um… Hello, Happy…?" Lucy looked back and forth between the flying blue cat and Natsu's incredibly dorky face of pure excitement. Happy took out the fish he was eating for a moment to say "Hi!" And went back to chowing down, oblivious to Lucy's shocked expression. 

"He… he talks? What kind of cat can talk and fly!?" 

Natsu chuckled, strolling over to the bed where trays of food were and began digging in. "He's an exceed!" He said, as if it were obvious. Lucy chose to just accept that answer, she was too hungry to pry. 

She watched as Happy flopped down on the bed next to Natsu, cringing again when she noticed the demon's dirty clothes on the sheets. She sat down on the opposite side of Happy, picking up a bowl of salad and eating much neater than the boys.

"Are you really Natsu's girlfriend?"

Lucy nearly choked upon hearing Happy's question, and turned to Natsu as she heard him begin to laugh.

"She's not my girlfriend, buddy. Where'd you get that idea from?"

"I thought you kept her because you were lonely? Igneel said something about you two making babies… when will you lay your egg, Lushi?"

Lucy's blush worsened as Natsu's laughter grew, the blonde nearly dropping the bowl in her hands.

"Lay off, bud. We aren't like that, Luce's just a friend." Natsu began idly rubbing behind the exceed's ears, earning what Lucy swore sounded like a purr.

"Then how come she stays in here all the time? And you're always hanging out with her in here…"

"Well, she's new here, and the others don't really like her. The only way to get them to fuck off is if they think she's my concubine, so she's gotta stay in here too. Sorry about spending so much time here, buddy, I've just been tryna make sure Lucy was alright."

Happy rubbed his paws along the sheets before he got up and trotted to Lucy's lap, patting it a few times before laying down there.

"It's okay. Do you remember when you first got here, Lushi? I was the first one to talk to you!"

Lucy looked down at the blue creature in her lap, confused as to why he decided to lay there but choosing not to comment on it. She pondered for a moment, running her fingers through the hairs on his back. 

"Now that you mentioned it, yea I remember. For a while I sort of blocked out what happened before Natsu took me here, so I forgot." 

Happy smiled at her before closing his eyes, immediately falling asleep. Lucy continued to look down at him, smiling softly at his cute expression. 

"He likes you." Natsu said, his smile showing the same contentment as hers. 

The blonde hummed in agreement, shifting Happy so that he rested in her arms as she stood up. She placed him down on a plush armchair, surprised that he didn't so much as stir the entire time.

"Finish eating, then I'll have to clean up again."

"Don't worry bout it." Natsu stacked his empty plates, patting the bed for Lucy to join him and finish her salad. 

"Well, it is my job. Although I'm not getting paid, so it's my… obligation? Do people normally get paid here?" 

She decided not to sit, picking up her bowl and standing in front of Natsu as she spoke.

"Yea, but servants are usually prisoners or something, so they work here 'cause they have to. I'd pay you if you weren't living here full time, though. But you really don't have to worry about it tonight, I'll clean up." He gave her an easy smile, and Lucy couldn't help but blush in return. 

"If you say so… but hurry up and get cleaned up, you're totally soiling the sheets!" She set her now empty bowl on top of Natsu's stacked plates, scowling as he chuckled.

Natsu set the dishes on a tray that sat outside his door for a servant to take before going to one of his dressers and pulling out a pair of boxers. He grinned at Lucy's irritated expression. "Don't worry, I'll be quick, and then I'll change the sheets. Are you gonna sleep naked or what?" 

She fiddled with the collar around her neck as she looked down at the towel she was wearing, a blush adorning her face as she mumbled, "would you like me to?"

Natsu stared at her, part of him not believing what he'd heard. He walked to the washroom, looking back at her while saying, "you can do whatever you're comfortable with," before shutting the door behind him.

Lucy stood next to the messy bed, holding in a squeal.

"Why did I just ask him that!? He's gonna get the wrong idea now! Dammit Lucy, control yourself!"

She sighed as she sat on the arm of the chair Happy was in, looking up at the ceiling. 

It's only been 3 weeks, why was she already thinking such suggestive thoughts? It was no secret that Natsu was an attractive man, but for her to have already developed feelings for him was kind of embarrassing. Trusting and being drawn to someone so easily made her feel like she was the naive girl she'd always been perceived to be.

Not that he'd know about that.