Natsu's magic couldn't be described.
The best way I could explain it was like watching a fireplace, seeing the flames pop and sway on top of wood.
Only... Natsu was the wood.
When he stepped into the meadow, it was as if someone lit his body on fire, starting at his feet and ending at the ends of his hair. His eyes blazed through the flames, bright and striking. As he strode through the high grass and flowers, the flora should have been singed and turned to ash. But it wasn't. He controlled it.
My eyes bulged at him as he walked to me in a slow pace. The flames licked at the places he stepped, but as he continued, the evidence of the fire was nonexistent.
I should've been afraid. A normal person would've been afraid. Yet as I watched him approach me in that elongated moment, I couldn't help but think that the magnificence of the meadow paled in comparison to his.
He was so incredible, I feared he would vanish into thin air and take the beauty of this place with him.
He finally got to me, "Lucy."
I breathed the breath I didn't know I held when my name left his lips.
"Do I scare you now?"
I gawked at him, the flames continuing to dance around his face. I reached a hand out to touch it. He stiffened when my hand came in contact with his flames... or at least I saw my hand touch his fire. However, I felt nothing. As if I was simply grasping the air around me, I didn't even feel a change in warmth.
I looked up at him in confusion and curiosity, and he returned my gaze with piercing focus.
"No." I answered softly, retracting my hand. How odd. "No more than usual, anyway."
A smile broke out on to his face, his pearly white teeth gleaming as bright as the flames. In next second, his fire was extinguished, and I blinked at him in shock.
"Wow." I gasped, and he chuckled.
"A Fire Dragon Slayor manipulates fire." He explained, crouching down to sit in the small field, "I breathe it in, roar it out, sling it... eat it."
I gaped before sitting down with him, "Eat it?"
He nodded, "It's how I rejuvenate my magic. Mages can run out of it when they've used too much, so for me to power up again, I eat a flame."
"Or a soul?" I inquired, and his smile fell a bit.
"Or a soul." He whispered, and I nodded, mumbling an apology that he accepted. We were quiet for a moment, and when I looked back at him, his eyes were closed.
I bit my lip, gazing down at his hands that rested on the grass. Without thinking, I gently trailed my fingertip along the back of his hand. His body heat was a clear reminder of his fire, and it added to my confusion. How could I feel his immense heat and not his visible flames? He must have been able to choose whom or what it burned.
I looked up to him to see his eyes open and staring at me. I directed my attention back to his hand and trailed my finger up his forearm. My hand trembled, and I doubt it went unnoticed by him.
"Do you mind?" I asked softly. His eyes were closed again.
He hummed, "Not at all." He whispered, "You have no idea how nice that feels."
I hummed in response and continued to trail my finger tip along his perfect muscles, following the pale-bluish pattern of veins that slightly sat up. I reached to turn his hand over, and in a blindingly fast motion, he turned it over himself. I froze at how disconcerting the movement was.
"Sorry." He said softly as I composed myself, "It's hard to not be myself when I'm with you."
"I guess I can't say that's a bad thing." I mumbled back, and he smiled crookedly. I examined his palm, tracing the creases in it.
"Tell me what you're thinking." He said suddenly in a soft, desperate plea, "It's still so weird for me not knowing."
"You know that's exactly how the rest of us feel down here on Earth." I chuckled, and he scoffed.
"I still wanna know." He said in a soft, sultry voice.
I sighed, looking into his eyes which sparkled, "I was wishing to know what you were thinking." I said, and he smirked, "And wishing that I could believe you were real... wishing that I wasn't afraid."
He rose his head to level with mine, "I don't want you to be afraid." He said gently, his fingers curling to come in contact with mine.
"I'm not afraid in the way you would think, Natsu." I said softly, and he tilted his head.
So quickly was I able to miss his next movement. He had been in a half-sitting position, his unoccupied hand propping him up. And though our positions were parallel, his face was a good distance from mine. But in a quick motion, he was sitting completely up, my right shoulder and his left came in contact with one another, and his face was a mere few inches from mine.
"What are you afraid of then?" He asked in his velvety voice. My heart skipped a beat with his breath touched my face. It was such a sweet fragrance, delicious enough to make my mouth water. Without thinking, I leaned into him to breathe in his scent.
And then he was gone. I blinked to see him back to the entrance. I could see his face, his eyes dark and lost in the shadows of his hair. I could feel my face, hurt and shocked. My empty hand felt numb.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Natsu..." I breathed, knowing he could hear me regardless of the twenty feet that separated us.
"Just give me a sec." He called, louder for my less sensitive ears. It was when I saw his chest rise and fall, his eyes wide, and his face still—in an attempt to calm his need—that I realized just how difficult this must be for him. And I was the worse girlfriend in the world for ignoring his warnings.
He started back to me, stopping two feet away as opposed to right next to me like before. He crossed his legs, his eyes stuck to mine as he smiled in apology.
"I am so very sorry, Luce." He said genuinely, and I breathed shakily, my gaze falling, "Would you understand me if I said I'm only human?" He chuckled, and I nodded, not quite as able to crack a smile. I felt horrible.
When he sensed the change in my physique, the sudden realization of danger in my system, his smile turned mocking.
"I must be the world's most dangerous predator, right?" He chuckled without humor, and I looked at him, "Everything about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell... As if I need any of that!" He slammed his fist against the ground, producing the same sound as someone's spine being split apart. I flinched intensely, and when I blinked, he was across the meadow again.
"As if you could outrun me!" He laughed hysterically, flashing to another corner of the field, and then another. Then, he stood next to the trunk of one of the many trees circling the field, and in another hasty movement, he tore a two-foot thick branch off of it with little to no exertion. He then launched it across the meadow, causing it to collide with a tree that matched the size of the one it was ripped from and making it sway.
"As if you could fight me off." He said, suddenly right in front of me, his face inches from mine as he sat in a crouched position. I jumped at his sudden closeness, my arms propping me up, readying myself to jump up and run. But I didn't.
His eyes gleamed with a fierce freedom, and there was no other time I'd seen him when he looked so non-human... or more beautiful. I could only imagine how my face looked. I felt like a bird trapped in the grip of a python.
Then, as the seconds passed, his eyes began to dim and his face fell into an ancient sadness. I let go of the breath I held, and he shakily sighed.
"Don't be afraid." He whispered, his voice gentle and unintentionally seductive. I blinked, feeling the tears that had welled up get sucked back in. I refused to let him see how afraid I was of him in that moment. It wouldn't change how he felt about himself and would only encourage the claim he had about staying away from me.
I couldn't have it.
"I promise..." He whispered again, "I swear not to hurt you." It sounded like he was telling himself more than telling me, "I'm so sorry." He whispered, sitting back down to his initial position, "I can control myself... You just caught me off guard, but I'm on my best behavior now."
I stared at him still as I sat up straight, and he smiled softly before gently placing his hand in my lap.
"I'm not hungry, Lucy. I promise." He said jokingly, winking at me. I couldn't help but smile, "Are you okay?"
I cleared my throat, "Yeah..." My voice sounded weak, so I cleared my throat, "That uh... That was something." I chuckled.
"I don't know what came over me." He sighed, his fingers grazing mine in my lap, "Where were we before I got so turnt out?"
I turned my head in thought, "We were talking about... what I was afraid of." I snapped in remembrance, and he chuckled.
"Right, right. Well, what is it?"
"I'm... afraid of you leaving me... And it sucks, because a part of me knows I can't stay with you..." I said, looking down. I could feel the tears welling up again, and I was having a harder time keeping them at bay. His hand came up to gently tilt my face back up to him.
"That is something to fear... Wanting to be with me," He said softly, "...It's not exactly in your best interest."
I frowned.
"It's my fault really." He said, and before I could interject he continued, "I should've left a long time ago. I should leave now... but I don't know if I ever could. I missed my chance." He looked down, probably remembering when he ran away to be with his other family members, "But I'm a selfish creature, Luce." He smirked up at me, "I crave your presence too much to get ghost."
"I'm glad." I smiled, and he took his hand away from mine.
"Don't be." His voice was harsh, much harsher than usual, "Don't forget that you are in more danger with me than anyone else. It's not just your company I crave, Lucy."
I sighed, "Has that ever happened before?" I asked, and he raised an eyebrow, "Craving someone more than anyone else, has it happened to anyone else before?"
He sighed, "I spoke to my brothers about it. To Gajeel every one of you is pretty much the same. He and Levy joined our family last, and it's specifically difficult for him to not purge. His last... family hunted in the usual way, and he wasn't able to adjust to different smells or auras... so he wasn't sure if he'd ever come across someone as... appealing to him as you are to me." He explained.
"But Jellal's encountered two people." He continued, "He was created into our family, so he's always gone against the grain. He's been with us longer, so he understood what I meant. He said one of them appealed to him stronger than the other, but both were much more intoxicating than everyone else."
"What did he do?" I asked. I wanted to give him a better way of thinking about this situation. Maybe Jellal could be an example of how to restrain himself... But when I saw his reaction to my question I backtracked. His eyes turned dark, "I guess I know the answer to that." I said.
He scoffed, "Even the strongest of us fall off the wagon, don't we?"
"So, what, you're asking for my permission?" My voice was sharper than I intended. I tried to sound kinder, "Is there no hope then?"
"No!" He exclaimed, "There's definitely hope. I mean, I would never..." He left the sentence hanging. He watched me intently as I thought, "Those people Jellal met, they were strangers. This..." He gently took my hand again, "This is different."
I nodded, "So, if we happened to meet in some... dark alley, then..."
He lowered his head, "It took everything in me not to jump up in the middle of that class full of children and—"
I looked at him, my hand carefully raising to glide through his hair. God, it was so soft. Like a million cherry blossom petals.
He hummed as my fingers continued through his mane, "Not even just then... When I first saw you in that department store... If I hadn't hunted the day before, I could've ruined everything Laxus built for us. Gajeel had to keep a hold on me when we left, 'cuz I nearly turned around back inside...
"It made it so much worse that I couldn't hear you... that I had to stoop to such measures just get some type of grasp on what you thought of me... Jenny's mind is not at all original, and that shit was annoying. Cana didn't focus much on you like everyone else did, she truly acted like your arrival was normal as opposed to everyone else. I even went so low as to try with Ren... that didn't last long." His teeth clenched, and I chuckled lightly at his irritation.
"When I came back, I wanted you to forget my behavior... So, I tried to act normal with you. I was eager honestly... I wanted so badly to decode your thoughts at that point. And you were so interesting... I found myself focused on your expressions, how you... quirk your brow when you become impatient... or flare your nose when you get upset... or blush when I look at you." His eyes trailed up to mine, and I noticed our breathing became in sync. Slow and careful.
"Of course, then you were nearly crushed to death in front of me." His eyes darkened, and I winced at the memory, "Later, I wrote my actions off as an excuse for stopping what would've happened if I let you die." His voice broke slightly on that last word, "If your body had opened up there, and your soul became vulnerable... I don't know how I would've stopped myself from exposing us. But that excuse came later... In the moment, all I could think was 'Not her.'" His eyes closed in agony of remembrance.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
"My family was appalled. They couldn't believe I came so close to risking us for your sake... a human. The only ones on my side were Laxus, Levy and Mirajane. Laxus wanted me to do whatever would keep you safe. Mira wanted me to do whatever I had to do in order to stay. Levy was so happy that you were safe she didn't care about what had nearly went down."
I gasped, "She was happy?" Her family's secret was on the line, and all she cared about was the fact that I'd lived?
Natsu smiled softly, "The messages she gets from the future told her about you. How close you and her would be. You could say she... loves you... nearly as much as I do." My heart dropped.
Did he just... Oh my God, he just...
"My other family members weren't as happy about what I did." He said before I could think any harder on his last comment, "I fought with Erza, Jellal, and Gajeel when they suggested that now was the time... Hands down the worst fight we've ever had."
"It was the time?" I inquired, "The time for what?"
He hesitated for a long antagonizing moment before saying, "For me... to kill you." He mumbled, so low that I strained to hear him. I didn't dare to make him repeat it. He looked like he would cry if he ever had to say it again.
"What happened that next day?" I asked to keep him from sulking over that topic any longer. He looked up at me.
"You weren't at school." He stated. Oh, right.
"Then, the next?" I pressed, and he thought for a moment.
"I eavesdropped on the minds of everyone you spoke to." He said, "I had to know if you told anyone the truth behind the accident... I was so shocked to find that you kept your word. I didn't understand you at all. But I ignored the pang of interest and stuck to the plan of ignoring you. I didn't want to put you in anymore danger, or have to risk my family by attempting to keep you out of it...
"And then I heard you... when you reminded me that I promised not to do that to you again... And that was it for me. I couldn't hear you sound like that ever again... not over me. And for all of that," He said, locking his fingers with mine that played in his hair, "I'd have faired far better to end it all there in that parking lot, rather than to do it here, with no witnesses and nothing to stop me... To hurt you."
"Why?" I asked softly, and he rose his head with the kindest face one could ever conjure.
"Lucy." He breathed, "I could never live with myself if I hurt you. The thought torments me every time I come in your vicinity. To think," His fiery hand caressed my cheek, causing blush to pour into it, "Of your beautiful face never blushing scarlet at me... To never see that knowing glare in your eyes when you see through me like glass..." His eyes stuck to mine, his knuckle tilting my chin up so my gaze locked with his, "It would be unbearable. You're the most important thing to me now... The most important thing to me ever."
Damn.
"You know how I feel, correct?" I asked after a moment of silent shock, "I'm here," I said softly, "Which means I would rather die... than stay away from you."
He stared at me for a moment before letting his knuckle fall from my chin.
"I'm an idiot." I laughed, and he laughed with me.
"You are an idiot." He said, and when we died down from our ironic laughter, he squeezed my hand playfully, "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." I looked away, my mind thrilled at the word.
"What a stupid lamb." I chuckled, and he shook his head lovingly.
"What a sick, masochistic lion." He mumbled. He raised his free hand to touch my neck. I froze from the heat of his touch, it told me to be afraid. I should've been afraid. But there was no fear left in me, just love... and other feelings.
"Your soul is singing again, Miss Heartfilia." He whispered, and I gasped as his fingers trailed lower to my collarbone. Then lower to the side of my chest, to the side of my rib, and finally down to my waist, "Stay very still." He said, grasping my side completely with his hand. I breathed, my vision becoming foggy as he leaned into me. His eyes never left mine, and my breath came out in deep spurts before he laid his cheek against the side of my jaw. He hovered over me slightly, his free hand propping himself up behind me. My hand clutched his shoulder as his lips grazed the skin just below my jawline.
"Natsu..." I whispered softly, and the tip of his nose trailed down my neck, his grasp on my waist tightening ever so slightly.
I shivered, and I heard him catch his breath. His nose skimmed over my collarbone, before he rested his head against my chest, listening to my heart.
"Mm..." He hummed, seeming pleased with the rapid thumping he heard. We sat there for ages. Even after my pulse died down, he still sat there holding me. I knew at any moment it could be too much for him, and my life could end so quickly I might not even notice. But I couldn't even make myself be afraid. I couldn't think of anything except the fact that he was touching me.
He pulled away.
"There." He sighed in peace, "It won't be so hard next time."
"Was that hard for you?" My voice sounded faint as he sat back down in front of me.
"Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be." He smiled in victory, and I smiled back with a flushed face, "What about for you?"
"No, it wasn't bad." I said, and he chuckled. He took my hand, placing my palm against his cheek.
"You probably can't tell, but it feels warmer than usual."
I couldn't tell. His skin was always aflame, how the hell would I be able to tell? But that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that I was touching his face. I had never touched Natsu's face before. It was so perfect I thought I would taint it. But I dreamed of it.
"Don't move." I whispered. His expression relaxed, and he closed his eyes before stilling. He was practically a statue, far more still than any human could ever be. A stone under my hand.
I moved slower than he did before. I caressed his cheek, traced over his eyelids and nose, and stroked his bottom lip causing him to part them.
Before I knew what I was doing, I carefully climbed on to his lap. He stiffened further, a sharp breath escaping his lips. My hands gently cupped his face, and my thumbs continued to caress his jawline. His hands trailed up my thighs to my waist. I gently brought his face toward mine, my lips coming in contact with his temple as we both breathed deeply. His hands traveled to my back, and I felt chills run up my arms and neck. One hand settled on the small of my back, and the other wrapped around it.
"Lucy..." He breathed, sounding pained. But it was a pain that you would want. Something that hurt so good.
He opened his eyes, and his hand that wrapped around my back came up to grasp the back of my neck. My eyes locked with his, and our noses touched.
"What is this?" He asked in vulnerable confusion. My thumbs caressed his cheeks, "I've never felt so... human before." He sounded damn near out of breath, and I lightly trailed my nose along his, "I wish I could explain it to you... I have other hungers... beside the obvious... Hungers I don't understand, they're foreign to me."
"Shh..." I said softly, trailing my fingers up to graze his lips. His eyes glimmered with longing, and the muscles in my stomach tightened. My pulse hammered through my veins, "I understand that more than you think." I mumbled. He was breathless as his hooded eyes trailed to my lips. My heart stopped.
He began leaning into me... And then thunder struck.
I didn't know when our eyes closed, but they opened to meet each other in confusion. My heart continued to race at our proximity. Our lips were not even a centimeter apart.
We pulled back, looking up at the clouds to see them dark and full, making the meadow darker and of a blue-grey tint.
Raindrops fell from the sky, and my mouth widened in shock as one dropped on my cheek. We jumped up.
"What the hell-" I exclaimed before Natsu began rushing me to the trees.
"I swear Levy told me the forecast would be fine today!" He said, and I laughed behind him.
"So either you tricked me or she tricked the both of us!" I called as the rain came down harder, rumbles echoing in the clouds and the sky growing darker.
"Maybe!" He called back, laughing with me as we ran to get under some cover.
We were thick in the woods when he turned, ducking down to grasp my waist and hoist me over his shoulder. I squeaked, and he laughed maniacally as I playfully yelled at him to put me down. He ran us through the woods by a few more yards before he stopped, placing me against a thick tree. Our laughter continued. He stepped back, and I witnessed his hair and clothes soaked. I giggled with blush on my cheeks. He looked gorgeous. He quirked an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't laugh too much at me. You look like a drowned kitten." He said, laughing again. My hair and outfit were soaked as well. I rolled my eyes, smirking as I pulled my flower pin out and causing my hair to fall in my face. Natsu stopped laughing.
I looked up at him to see his eyes stuck on me in awe. I blushed harder as the color of his eyes brightened, while their lids became hooded. My heart sped up again. He huffed lightly before stepping closer to me.
His hands reached for my face quickly before his lips crashed on to mine.
It felt like time had frozen the first time he kissed me. I heard the rain, the birds chirping in the tall trees around us, and the light wind that swept past us with the thunder.
But all I felt was him. Him and his perfect lips that found mine almost instinctively. They belonged together, they always did. We belonged here, in this wet, foggy forest under the dark, crying clouds. I was in the most blissful trance, and yet I registered everything he was doing to me.
Our breaths blended together in passionate frenzy. He parted from me briefly before connecting our lips again. His body pressed mine against the tree, and his hands tilted my face up to bring me closer to his towering form. I gasped against his lips, grabbing at his shoulders and vest to steady my racing heart. I was worried my head would explode from the excitement of feeling him touch me this way.
He turned his head, leaning further into me to deepen the kiss, and his hands loosened their grip on my face. His lips pulled away before returning, missing my lips and kissing the corner of my mouth. My lips did the same to his. It was like we'd become a pair of machines, too lost in our built up hungers for one another. Our lips reconnected, and my gasps mixed in with his heavy breaths. I felt his hands drop down to grab at my hips, and mine trailed up to cup his face.
And then, he was leaning down, never breaking our lips apart, to grab ahold of my thigh. My hands clasped his shoulders as he pulled me on to him. My thighs stuck to his hips, and I brought my hands back up: one cupped his face, the other knotted into the hair on the nape of his neck. He groaned, the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard from him, making my legs tighten around his waist.
And then he stiffened, pulling away and causing a moan to slip my lips. Our disconnection produced a smacking sound, and he let me down right after. He didn't stray away from me like I thought he would once his true hunger kicked in. My hand remained on his face, and his lips grazed my forehead as we shakily caught our breath.
I looked up at him to see his eyes ablaze: neon-green with small, dilated pupils. He didn't say anything. He just breathed deeply, shaking with his eyes locked with mine. Our noses grazed each other, and my hand came up to caress his cheek. His eyes fluttered close from the touch.
"Shhh..." I whispered softly, rubbing his cheek while my other hand rested on his chest, "Natsu..."
His breathing calmed, but his eyes opened, still blazing on.
"It's okay." I assured him, causing his eyebrows furrow a bit. His eyes softened slightly, "We're okay." I whispered.
His lips parted, and his breathing finally normalized. As did his eyes.
"Should I..." I indirectly suggested giving him space by beginning to withdraw my hand from his face. His hand came up to gently grasp my small wrist.
"No," His voice was hoarse, but he placed my hand back on his face, "I'm okay."
I nodded, bringing my hand to the back of his neck and pulling him into a hug. He let out heavy breath as his head laid on my shoulder. His hands grasped at my back, and I tried to calm my own erratic breathing.
As we finally came down from our high, he pulled away.
"We should get going." He whispered, his face still close to mine, "I can't have you getting sick."
I smiled softly, still blushing profusely. He turned and carefully pulled me on to his back. He waited until I told him I was ready before taking off towards my Beetle.