They spent the next few hours walking aimlessly around town, enjoying the sun. Neither mage was much for window shopping, and they'd both seen all the sights, but Natsumi thought it was nice just to walk around the city that had taken her in all those years ago. It'd been a while since she'd had time to relax and do whatever she wanted, whether that be sleeping or training or wandering. Before this whole fiasco happened, she'd been on an endless string of jobs since they'd all managed to save Fiore from the dragons. Shuddering, she pushed those memories away, not wanting to follow that thought to how she'd watched Future Rogue kill one of her best friends, or at least a version of her.
No, she thought. Today was a day to be enjoyed.
It was weird to see Laxus so far out of his element. She didn't think he'd been anywhere without the Thunder Legion recently, and she definitely had never seen him smile so much. She hadn't expected him to actually be happy about her gambit to get as much free food as possible, but then again, Laxus was just as weird as the rest of Fairy Tail, so she supposed it wasn't that surprising. Plus, he looked nice when he smiled.
They passed a book shop, the smell of ink and paper making her stop and smile at memories of Lucy.
Laxus, who'd walked on ahead, turned around to look back when he noticed she was no longer beside him.
"Oi, what's that look for? Don't tell me you want to go in there?" he asked, disbelief coloring his tone when he looked at the bookshelves in the window.
Natsumi laughed, shaking her head, jogging to catch up to where he stood.
"Nah, I don't read all that much. But Lucy does! The smell of books always reminds me of her. She wants to be an author, you know. She's in the middle of a novel right now, and sometimes I sneak into her room and read new chapters." He laughed at the evil look on her face.
"Does Lucy know?"
"Sometimes she catches me. Last time, she kicked me so hard I flew into a wall! Look, I've still got a knot on the back of my head!" she cried, taking his hand and pressing it against her head. Sure enough, he felt a slightly raised lump protruding from the back of her skull.
"Damn, Nat. No wonder you are the way you are. Your brain is probably mushy from how many head wounds you've had," he said, gently massaging the knot with his fingers. He marveled at how soft her hair was, considering how little care she seemed to put into it.
"Shut up! I'm plenty smart!" she argued, shrugging off his hand. She stomped forward a few steps with her nose in the air. However, she stopped, whipping her head back to look at him with a sly look.
"I was smart enough to find where Luce keeps her secret diary. And she hasn't caught me reading that yet."
Laughing, he walked up to her. They fell into step again, ambling down the street.
"Anything juicy?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as they headed in the direction of the market.
She kicked a pebble in the street, sending it flying a few feet away. She repeated the motion as she caught up to it and pouted when she kicked it out of their path. "Not really. Lucy's actually pretty boring. And she'd really kill me if she found out I'd told anyone what was in there," she said.
He nodded, having guessed as much.
"But," she added, smirking, "once I found a list she'd made of perfect boyfriends. Happy and I laughed for half an hour."
"Anyone interesting?"
Natsumi only winked, pantomiming a zipping motion over her lips. With a roll of his eyes, Laxus let it go, content to let her be goofy.
They walked through the market in companionable silence, attracting the occasional odd look from merchants and passersby. Natsumi wasn't sure if they were the typical wary looks she normally received as one of the main destructive forces in Fairy Tail, or if it they were because of her being there with Laxus. She shrugged, deciding it didn't really matter. When she looked back up at Laxus, though, he looked uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
He looked down at her, his features surprised. "Huh?"
"Your face was all screwed up. Seemed like something was wrong," she said plainly.
"I guess people staring kind of pisses me off," he said, shrugging. "I'm used to people staying out of my way."
She frowned slightly, confused. "Really?"
"Uh, yeah. Despite the last few days and what happened with that shit at the Harvest Festival, I'm not really a showy guy. Or at least I'm not anymore," he mumbled.
Natsumi pursed her lips and looked up at Laxus with a contemplative expression.
"What?" he asked her when she didn't say anything.
"You're kind of an idiot," she said. She grabbed his hand then, startling him enough to end the snarky retort that he'd been about to make. She yanked him back in the direction they'd come, walking at a brisk pace. Taking various side streets, she pulled them closer to the city limits. "If you didn't want to be there, you could've just said so," she scolded, still pulling him along. "You don't have to just go along with things and lie about how you feel," she told him as they approached the forest.
He narrowed his eyes, "That's easier said than done, you know."
She scoffed. He really was an idiot.
"No it's not. Just say what you mean. That's what I do," she said as they approached the forest for the second time in as many days. She slowed her pace, but didn't drop his hand.
"Yeah, well, not everyone's like you," he grumbled.
Rolling her eyes, Natsumi huffed. She didn't really understand the point of blustering and covering up the way you felt. If he wanted something, then why wouldn't he say so? It confused her when people weren't straightforward.
"Well, for the rest of today and tomorrow, you have to always say what you mean. Got it?" she said in an imperious voice. "And no lying about it either!"
She didn't bother to listen the subsequent disgruntled protests. After all, he was the one who said he'd expected something more difficult than paying for food. Served him right.
His complaints died down as she led them further into the forest, leading them not down the circling path up to the bluffs, but further into the heart of the forest, where the path opened up. When the blonde asked where they were going, she uttered one word.
"Fishing!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.
By the time they reached Natsumi's fishing spot, a part of the river that was wide and deep enough to accommodate fish large enough to be "worth it", in the tiny dragon slayer's opinion, the sun was low in the sky, casting heavy shadows through the trees as they walked.
"You sure night fishing is a good idea?" he asked, sounding unsure.
"Of course it is! Happy, Lisanna, and I used to do it loads of times as kids," she reassured. "Why? You scared of the dark?" She couldn't resist teasing him, watching his eyebrows drop as he gave her a dirty look. He made it way too easy.
She only laughed harder when he didn't dignify that with a response. It didn't make goading him any less fun, though.
"I guess you wouldn't be, since you're basically a walking nightlight," she continued, squatting by the water's edge to see if she could see any movement below the surface. "Maybe you don't want to fall in and electrocute yourself?" she wondered aloud. The girl turned her head to look behind her, eager to see the stormy look on his face. It wasn't every day that Laxus let anyone walk all over him like she did. She was determined to milk it for all it was worth.
That was, until a foot shot out and knocked her face-first into the water.
That bastard.
She resurfaced a few seconds later, sputtering and pushing her sopping bangs out of her face. Laxus was laughing his ass off, doubled over while he watched her tread water, glaring up at him and looking like a drowned rat.
"Your face! Oh, God, I can't," he got out between peals of booming laughter. He drew in a huge breath, standing up, only to burst out laughing again.
"Sorry, but you walked right into it. Fuck," he guffawed as she made her way back to the edge to grab a protruding tree root.
"Bastard," she called up him. She stuck out her free hand, glaring all the while. "Now help me out."
"You can't be serious. Like there's any chance in hell of that, Nat. There's no way I'm letting you pull me in there."
Natsumi's face fell. Well, it'd been worth a shot. She heaved a sigh, and pulled herself out, crawling up onto the grassy edge of the riverbank. Just because she could, she shook herself like a dog, sending water flying everywhere. Laxus cursed at her, jumping away. Laughing, she told him that he deserved it.
"Now my clothes are all wet, you jerk," she said as she gathered her hair, squeezing the excess water out of it.
"You're a fucking fire mage. I'm sure you can figure it out."
She glared at him, not amused. "It doesn't work that way! I'm fireproof, yeah, but my clothes aren't! You've seen me fight enough times to know that."
Laxus shrugged. She should've expected retribution for giving him so much shit.
His eyes widened when she took off her vest and her sash, wringing them out and walking over to a nearby tree, draping them over a branch with care. She followed that by unwinding her scarf from her neck and retying it around her hips.
He couldn't stifle the embarrassing squawk that came out of his mouth, however, when she began unraveling the thick white bandages covering her chest.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" he yelled, immediately looking up at the rapidly darkening sky. His face felt warm. This was not a good idea.
She looked at him, not sure what his problem was.
"What's it look like? I'm drying my clothes. The only way to manage the temperature finely enough to not burn them is to do it with my hands."
He was still not looking at her, so the effect of her skeptical look was lost. She shrugged, continuing her unwrapping.
Laxus let his eyes look back her for a fraction of a second and instantly regretted it.
"Stop it, okay! You can't just get naked wherever you want!" He gestured to her violently, still averting his eyes. This couldn't happening. Not to him.
"What's your problem! I don't get naked wherever! Who do think I am, the Popsicle Boy?"
She watched him wave his arms again, which would have funny if she wasn't so annoyed with how he seemed to be freaking out over something so stupid.
"My problem is you getting naked here, period! Explain to me how you think that's even the slightest bit normal?"
"How's it not normal?" Now she was just confused.
The long suffering, tortured groan he let out only confused her more.
"It's not normal because I'm here, idiot!"
"Why would you being here change anything—oh." It all came together then: his refusal to look at her when she was talking to him, the noise he'd made when he first saw her disrobing, the faint pinkish hue on his cheeks that she had failed to notice before in the gathering darkness.
"Yeah, oh," he spit out, turning around and crossing his arms over his chest.
She dropped her arms, letting the tail end of the bandage she'd been in the process of unwrapping hang impotently at her side. Not for the first time today, she wasn't sure what to do.
Laxus sighed.
"Well, congratulations on making this the most awkward thing ever."
Well, it wasn't her fault! He was the one that was being weird about stuff. She just wanted to dry the clothes that he got wet. The whole thing could have been avoided if he hadn't pushed her in the water.
"It's not a big deal, Laxus! Just relax already." All this shouting wasn't worth the effort.
"I'm not relaxing until you have all your clothes back on." He still didn't turn around.
Sadly, Natsumi began to wind the strip of muslin back up, wincing as the cold fabric touched her skin. Stupid Laxus and his hang ups.
"Okay, you can turn back around," she called out as she finished fastening the binding. Slowly, he turned back around, frowning as he noticed she hadn't put her vest back on. He could just deal with it, she thought. No way was she wearing any more wet clothes than she absolutely had to, no matter how big of a fit he threw.
"You're such a weirdo. You're almost as bad as Lucy about this kind of stuff," she remarked.
"Now you really do sound like Fullbuster," he claimed. She balked.
"Don't compare me to him! I was only doing it because I had to!"
"Well you don't seem to realize why it's a big deal. Did no one ever explain this shit to you or something?" he raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.
There he was again, not explaining what he meant. It was really starting to bug her.
"Explain what, Laxus? Stop being all roundabout and just tell me what you mean!" she exclaimed, crossing her own arms. She didn't want to play this game with him anymore.
Laxus looked like he wanted to die, the redness in his face intensifying in color. Multiple emotions played out across his face, finally settling to a mixture of embarrassment and resignation.
"Explain how you can't just take off your clothes and expect people not to get the wrong idea about what you're doing!" he yelled, bringing a hand to run through messy golden hair.
"What? You mean like sex?" she asked, the innocent look on her face not matching the weight of her question.
This was it, he thought. This is was the retribution for all the shit he'd done.
Luckily, Natsumi didn't seem to expect him to respond as she continued. Not that he found himself able to form any sort of coherent response at the moment.
"I never really understood that. Like, just because you see someone naked doesn't mean you want to have sex with them. I see Lucy naked all the time and it's not a big deal. And Gray, but that's just gross," she rambled. "And I thought I told you this yesterday. You didn't seem like you cared, then."
He groaned. "That was then! Excuse me if I didn't anticipate you stripping in front of me the very next day! Give a guy some credit. Not everyone's like you."
"So you were lying?" She said, angry.
"No, I wasn't fucking lying. You just surprised me," he palmed his face and sighed.
"Well if you weren't lying about being attracted to me, why are you freaking out?"
"I'm freaking out because I'm attracted to you, idiot!"
"But...why?"
"Because you fucking make me nervous, alright?"
"Macao and Wakaba used to say that you'd seen way more naked women than anyone at the guild, though..." she tilted her head, confused as to why he'd make such a fuss about her when he'd clearly been around.
Clearly, Laxus didn't agree. "That's not the point! They weren't you and you aren't them! It's different, okay?"
"How is it different?"
"Uh, because I actually care about you? Look, yeah, I've been with a lot of girls, but that was a long time ago. Getting kicked out by Gramps changed a lot of things. Calmed me the fuck down, for one. Put some things in perspective. And after that, I never really wanted to get involved with anyone else when I felt the way I did about you. So cut me some slack, alright? I'm not used to actually giving a fuck."
"So...you're freaking out because you're attracted to me?"
"YES," he yelled, completely exasperated. "That's literally what I just said. God, I know rocks less dense than you. I don't know how I could make it any clearer."
She put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at the man before her.
"Well, sorry! I don't know how any of this works!" she retorted.
"And that's the unfair part," he laughed, a harsh sound as he scrubbed his hands through his hair. "You don't even know or seem to care about the affect you have on people sometimes. And it's fucking terrifying that you have the power to mess me up like that."
A flood of warmth shot through her at that. She hadn't expected that from him. Hadn't expected him to say that she had such a great effect on him. He'd said he was attracted to her, but she hadn't taken him seriously. For him to say as much was shocking, and her heart sped up when she replayed his admission again in her head.
She walked toward him then. Approaching slowly, so as not to spook him, she reached out a hand and grabbed his coat. He watched her cautiously, but made no move to back away or shake her off. Natsumi smiled at that, and decided to push her luck.
The small girl wound her arms around Laxus's waist, embracing him, head pressed up against his chest. She heard his sharp inhale at her actions, felt his heart rate speed up beneath his skin. It felt nice to be so close to him. She hadn't done so since the very public embrace they'd shared in front of the guild, and she suddenly wish she'd used her time more wisely since then. He was warmer than she expected, since she usually found most other people cool in comparison to her own increased body temperature.
Natsumi snuggled closer to him, inhaling his sandalwood scent. It flooded her senses, making her own pulse quicken as that unmistakable, but unidentifiable musk that clung to him like a second skin, reached her.
Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around the her. In a rare moment of reflection, Natsumi realized she probably hadn't been fair to him. She'd admonished him for disguising his feelings and beating around the bush when she'd done as much herself. She'd told him she'd liked him, but never bothered to tell him the whole truth; never bothered to examine her feelings until she'd been confronted by them. He'd never asked her to reciprocate his feelings, either, but here he was, still hanging around and doing whatever she wanted just for her.
She smiled again. As weird and inscrutable as he was, he was pretty dorky.
It was high time she lived up to her own demands.
Laxus felt her push slightly against his arms, and he loosened his grip, but didn't let go of her shoulders. She leaned back to look at the man above her, a determined glint in her eyes.
"You're still doing what I say, right? No questions asked?"
At this point, Laxus was so past the point of trying to keep up with the girl that he just nodded. This was exhausting.
She didn't smile like he'd expected, only continued to look up at him with a focus usually only seen from her in battle.
Despite her odd behavior, he wasn't prepared for what she said next.
"Kiss me, then."
His eyes widened and he tensed, completely thrown. He searched her face for evidence that she didn't know what she was asking, that she didn't know what she was asking him. Laxus may have loved the girl in his arms to hell and back, but he'd be damned if he was going to kiss her and find out later that she hadn't really wanted it.
He found nothing to indicate any evidence of uncertainty in her face. Natsumi only continued to gaze at him with a measured, confident look. Her obsidian eyes stared into his, waiting for him to do what she asked of him.
And he wasn't strong enough to not take what she was offering.
Natsumi could see when desire won out over indecision, the wavering look in his eyes giving way to the same intensity that made her legs feel more liquid than muscle and bone. His hands moved from her shoulders to cup her face, and she could feel the race of his heart through the pads of his fingers, making her own face feel warm. The lightning mage leaned closer, then stopped, his eyebrows drawing together. Natsumi's stomach dropped, wondering if she had done something wrong. He'd all but said he'd wanted to kiss her; surely he hadn't changed his mind?
She squeaked when he bent down and grabbed her by the thighs, hauling her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, not wanting to fall backwards. She grabbed onto the shoulders of his coat, eyes wide as she came face to face with the blonde.
He smirked at her surprised, flushed expression.
"You're too fucking short, Nat," he said, before leaning forward and bringing their lips together.
Too shocked to move, Natsumi remained frozen for several seconds. She felt rather than saw Laxus smile into their kiss, and his hand crept from his hold on her thigh to the side of her face, thumb coming to stroke the side it gently.
She sighed gently, her eyes drifting shut, responding to him.
His mouth was soft and warm under hers, and when he parted his lips, taking her bottom lip between his, she let him. Natsumi felt lightheaded. She had thought she'd been prepared for what kissing was supposed to feel like, but with her heart seeming to be pounding between her ears and her whole body tingling, she found herself feeling self-conscious for the first time. She regretted never listening to Mira and Cana's conversations about boys when they were younger. Laxus had probably kissed a ton of people, all of them probably loads better at this than she was.
Nervous, she dug her fingers into the soft fur of his coat, pushing a bit harder into the kiss. Laxus responded by moving his other arm to the small of her back, tangling in the ends of her hair. She gasped, accidentally breaking the kiss. Embarrassed, she blushed harder, looking away.
Laxus laughed, and she could feel the deep rumbling sound vibrate from his chest. She felt pressure from the hand touching her face, turning it back to face him. He lightly brushed his lips against hers, still smiling.
"Relax," he whispered against her mouth, and her head swam. "I've got you, alright?" he promised, resting their foreheads together.
His words calmed Natsumi's nerves, and she loosened her grip on his coat, bringing one of her hands to play with the short hairs on the back of his neck. The rumbling noise he made in response made her giggle, and feeling bold, she leaned back in to kiss him again. She didn't know what she was doing, but there was something heady about the feeling of their mouths pressed together, she thought. She parted her lips like he'd done before, but pulled his bottom lip into her mouth, sucking on it gently. Her breath caught when his arms suddenly tightened around her and the hand on her back suddenly came up to thread in the hair at the back of her neck.
Encouraged, she slid both hands up into his hair, tugging on it, and his answering groan traveled straight to her stomach. He kissed her back harder, and she squeezed her legs tighter around him, not wanting to fall off and stop the tingly feeling in her body that touching him elicited. Her breath came in short pants, the air between them humid in the descending darkness of the forest. Blood roaring in her ears, she did the one thing she remembered Cana talking about when it came to kissing boys.
As Laxus locked their lips together again, she tilted her head and flicked her tongue out against his lips, and he gasped, opening his mouth and touching his tongue against the tip of hers.
It was her turn to gasp as he suddenly took control of the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She could only hold herself against him, letting him massage her tongue with his as her fingers took on missions of their own, stroking from his neck to the bottom of the scar that decorated his face because of her.
Laxus groaned again, running a hand up and down her side, slowing the kiss. After several more seconds of smaller, gentler kisses, he pulled away. Both were breathing heavily, and Natsumi felt satisfied to see a pinkish hue dusting the cheeks of the older dragon slayer. They stared at each other for a long, silent moment, catching their breaths. When she began to feel her heartbeat slow back to its original pace, she heard him take a deep breath.
"Jesus," he said, the intense stare he'd given her when she'd first told him to kiss her still present.
She laughed, a small, nervous thing.
"Seriously, are you sure you weren't lying when you said you'd never thought about this stuff?" he laughed, but the smile on his face was serene.
"Shut up," she commanded without heat, still feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Is that an order?" he teased, winking at her.
She stuck her tongue out at him, then squawked when he leaned in to nip at it.
"Yes, that's an order," Natsumi said. "And also, put me down."
The blonde laughed, but otherwise obeyed. When her feet were firmly on the ground and thankfully more stable than she'd thought they'd be, she looked back up at him. He really was pretty, she thought. Even in the darkness, he seemed to glow. Perhaps it had to do with the element he commanded, but she suspected that it had more to do with the dazzling smile he was giving her. She almost felt guilty for what she was about to do next.
The small girl closed the small distance between them once more, pressing her head against his chest. Before his arms came around her again, however, she pushed out hard, sending him stumbling away.
And into the river.
He hit the water with an enormous splash, but not before managing to utter a belligerent 'Fuck!' before he went down. It was Natsumi's turn to laugh as he popped out of the water, being tall enough to stand up straight. Laxus's hair was plastered to his forehead, dripping over his face. His coat floated comically behind him, the fur trim completely soaked through.
"What the fuck, Nat? This thing isn't supposed to get wet!" he shouted at her, holding up one soggy sleeve and letting it drop with a loud plunk.
"Now we're even!" she told him, laughing at her success at pulling one over on him.
Her laughter died away as the sopping wet fabric of his coat hit her in the face.
"Hey!" she yelped, flailing to try to extricate herself from the mountain of dark fabric, made heavier by the weight of the water.
"Serves you right. Go hang it by your stuff," he told her.
Natsumi huffed at him as she managed to gather the coat into a bundle. "Hang up your gangster coat yourself. I'm the one giving the orders for today!" she complained, but did it anyway.
"Actually, hang this up, too," he called. She turned and balked when he pulled the sleeveless shirt he was wearing over his head. He balled it up and tossed it to her. The pink-haired dragon slayer barely had the presence of mind to catch it.
"Now who's the one stripping?!" she grumbled, throwing it on top of where she'd hung the coat. If they didn't dry right, then it wasn't her responsibility.
He laughed at her, pushing his hair out of his face. "What are you going to do about it, Pinky?" he taunted her from the water, making no move to get out.
"Besides take off my clothes?" she said, making a threatening move to where her bindings were fastened.
He glared at her. "Just get in here," he said, splashing at her.
She was disappointed when he caught her in her attempt to cannonball on top of him. However, when he gathered her close and kissed her, she figured she could let it slide.