#kapower

Natsu ran his hand down her ribs, smirking when it got the desired squeak from Lucy. “Oh, are ya ticklish?” He purred, knowing fully well that she was indeed ticklish. Lucy tried to squirm out of his hold, cursing and threatening Natsu with denial to her kitchen as she did so. Natsu ignored her, the pair wrestling on the couch as Natsu attacked her ribs, large peaks of laughter and screams filling the dark room. They stopped when Natsu caught the scent of salt, and underneath that the light scent of Lucy's happiness. Everyone smelt different with different emotions, and a happy Lucy reminded Natsu of a field at dawn.

Natsu hummed happily when Lucy laid her head in the crook of his shoulder, wiping her face on his vest. The pair had ended up with Natsu on his back and Lucy tucked between his body and the back of her couch. The storm carried on around them, rain heavy on the roof and flashes punctuating the darkness outside, but Lucy seemed more relaxed now. Hidden from the world, her and Natsu escaping to their little universe for the moment.

Wow, Natsu needed to stop reading her writing so often, it had started to affect his brain with her weirdness. But then how would he find out what happened to the Dragon’s son?

“Hey Natsu?” Lucy whispered, her breath fanning over the skin of his shoulder, where both his vest and scarf failed to cover him. Natsu hummed in his throat in response, shifting with Lucy as she settled deeper against him. “Thank you.”

“For what Luce?” He asked, pausing his absent-minded stroking of her arm with his thumb.

“For helping me, for not making fun of me for being scared of a stupid storm. For being you.” Lucy whispered, nose pressed tight against Natsu's neck. He became hyper aware of how her curves moulded against his body so perfectly, the feeling of her heart beat calling his own pulse to match. Her breath tickled Natsu's skin, goosebumps causing a gentle shiver to run through his body. He swallowed thickly, suddenly unsure of himself.

“You're my best friend Luce. I don't like seeing ya afraid of anything.” His voice sounded rough, Natsu cringing at how close his words sounded to his thoughts. “‘Sides, I'll make fun of ya later when the storms passed.”

Lucy huffed a small laugh, hand curling into a fist on his bare stomach. She saw right through him, something only Happy had been able to do, and Lisanna briefly before. But not Lucy. No, it had taken her a week at most after meeting him to start to understand him. Maybe because she was the only one who had ever really tried to.

Natsu said nothing when he felt her shift, one hand lowering and resting on her knee, leg slung over his like he had seen her do to pillows in her sleep. Another shock of thunder rang outside, but Lucy barely flinched. Her breathing had slowed to match Natsu's, steady inhale with a slow and long exhale. Natsu let his face fall against the crown of her head, greedy as he took in her honey and vanilla scent. They would have to take a job soon, Lucy's expensive soaps and shampoos almost emptied.

On the bright side, Happy's fur was full and luscious now.

The peace lulled over him, Lucy's calm heartbeat pulling him to sleep and the rain a gentle backdrop despite its angry sounds as it hit the roof. But Natsu didn't want to sleep yet. Didn't want to miss time that he held Lucy in his arms for no other reason than to hold her.

“Hey Luce?” Natsu whispered, grinning as her small mewl in return. Her face turned more into the nook of his shoulder, nose pressed against his scarf as a pillow. “I can't feel my legs.”

“Oh shut up, you ass,” Lucy grumbled, fully awake. She moved over so more of her weight was pressed to Natsu's hips, her entire body eventually laying on top of his as she got comfortable again. “How about now?” She asked, smug lit making Natsu bite back a laugh. As if she didn't know he could lift her with one hand.

“Now I have a blanket!” He crowed, wrapping his arms around Lucy and trapping him against her. Her loud laugh and squeals as she half struggled in his arms sounded like the sweetest bells he had ever heard, pure joy and warmth washing over him from her.

“Well I have a space heater then.” Lucy countered, giving up her attempts at escape and snaking her arms between his back and the sofa cushion, legs falling between his spread ones and body curling into his.

“Just usin’ me for my body, eh?” Natsu teased, rolling his eyes at her exaggerated nod and hum in agreement.

“I have to admit,” Lucy said softly, Natsu barely able to hear her above the rain on the roof, “it is a very nice body.”

Natsu froze under her, mind crashing as he struggled to come up with a reason Lucy would say something like that. He made a gurgling sound when he couldn't find one.

“Natsu?” Lucy called, voice unsure and soft. Natsu hugged her tighter as he tried to swallow, mouth suddenly dry and his tongue feeling too big for his mouth.

“Uhh,” was all he managed to say, and he cringed inwardly. Yeah, that was so articulate, just like how Lucy would spend long walks on their missions describing her perfect man. She'd try and get Natsu to describe his perfect girl -or boy she added quickly, who was Lucy to limit him?- but Natsu had always brushed her questions aside, saying he didn't need any stupid romance or love when he had Fairy Tail and monsters to fight.

“Is that okay?” She asked, voice less unsure but still not what Natsu would call confident.

“Uhhuhh,” Natsu said again, biting his tongue sharply. She giggled at his noises, Natsu relaxing a bit despite his face feeling like it was on fire. “I, uh, like your body too.” Natsu said, scratching at his temple as he spoke. Was it too much? To admit something like that in the dark as he held her?

“With how much you grope me I should hope so.” Lucy said dryly.

“Oi!” Natsu squawked. “It ain’t like I try to do that shit! It just kinda... happens.” Natsu pouted. He really didn’t mean to touch her boobs and shit. He knew how uncomfortable it made her, and so Natsu tried his best to avoid it. But when a half naked best friend gets thrown at you, you’re going to try and cushion her fall. It was just that Natsu always seemed to end up with a handful and a red handprint on his face for his troubles.

Lucy always bought him double meals though, as way of apology, so he didn’t mind too much.

Lucy’s light chuckles made him relax, and a sudden desire took over Natsu. For the first time he could remember, he wanted to touch Lucy like that. He froze, unsure if this new realization meant he was overstepping a line just by holding her. What if she didn’t feel the same? What if what she loved most about being his best friend is that he wasn’t constantly chasing her like all the other guys?

“Natsu?” Lucy asked, worry in her voice making him sink deeper into despair. Here she was being concerned for him as he was debating if he was being a pervert by even cuddling her.

“Lucy,” Natsu asked, mind screaming for him to stop talking but his mouth not listening,  “Can I touch you?”

“What?” Lucy asked. Natsu closed his eyes at her voice crack. Gods he’d gone and fucked everything up. “Why do you- I mean- what?”

Natsu whined and snatched his hands from off her back, covering his face with his scarf. He wondered if facing the rain was really that bad. A boom of thunder crashed overhead and Natsu struck that idea. He wouldn’t leave Lucy alone to brave the storm.

“Natsu, why are you asking for permission all of a sudden? You have literally never considered my personal space before, so why now?”

“I dunno,” Natsu mumbled through the scarf. At least Lucy mainly sounded confused, and a bit embarrassed. Not angry or repulsed. So Natsu was already ahead of the game in his mind.

“Is me touching ya bad?” He asked instead of letting it drop. Maybe it was the dark around them, the safety of knowing that Lucy couldn’t peer into his soul and figure him out that let Natsu speak his mind. Or maybe he’d just gone completely weird like her.

Lucy stayed quiet for several long seconds, blindly reaching for Natsu’s hands before leading them back to where they had sat on the small of her back. “No Natsu, it’s not bad. I like how close we are. The casual touches and the way you drape yourself over me or just pick me up and drag me along on whatever crazy scheme you’ve come up with. All of it. It makes me feel safe and like I’m home.”

Natsu swallowed thickly, letting his hands run along Lucy’s spine as the heavy quiet of the rain and darkness of the room fell over them once more. Lucy shivered lightly under his touches, and something whispered far back in Natsu’s brain that they weren’t bad shivers. Fuck.

“I feel the same.” He rasped, staring blankly at the ceiling as Lucy laid her head soundly on his chest, arms squeezing him tightly and knees tucking under his thigh.

“Good.” Lucy whispered. Natsu let some magic seep into his hands, warming them as he continued to rub her back in slow strokes, letting his fingertips follow the ridges of bone along her spine or gently graze the dimples that let him know he was pushing how far south he could go. Neither of them were ready for that yet.

But Natsu had hope now that one day, they might be. And even better, they might be ready to acknowledge what they meant to each other. Right now though, under the rain and as Natsu held Lucy in his arms, this was enough. He smiled.