#super writes

When the two arrived at Fairy Tail, Lucy noticed immediately that the rest of their friends weren't at their usual table.

"They're in the basement," Natsu said, reading her expression with ease.

They headed behind the counter to the back of the pub, going down the long list of steps before reaching the illuminated basement. Sure enough, everyone else was laughing away in the lounging area.

Lucy followed Natsu, swallowing thickly when she found Mira standing with the rest of them. The girl truly was beautiful, the most beautiful girl that she had ever seen in her opinion. Her ocean eyes sparkled as she listened contently to Gray's story about who knows what. Her white colored hair- while odd for someone their age- rolled down her back in elegant waves.

As Lucy approached the group, she noticed Mira's eyes widen, her jaw slacking as she got closer. The blonde's gut wrenched, guilty for knowing she was the reason Mira was uncomfortable. She tried to limit her time in the basement to make the immortal feel more comfortable in her own home, but Natsu was insistent that she come over. She figured it wasn't fair that Natsu had to come over to her place all the time, and he probably wanted her to get closer to the other immortals, Mira included. Sighing, she doubted that would happen.

Luckily, Lucy wasn't given time to drown in her guilt as Cana slung an arm around her shoulder and pushed a glass to her chest.

"Drink up, Lucy! Let's have some fun!" the brunette exclaimed, her words slurred and her cheeks already pink from the alcohol.

"I-I'm not much of a drinker…" Lucy replied, sweat dripping down the back of her neck.

"Oh, lighten up! Just have a couple of shots with us!"

Her lips twitched upwards into a grin before she accepted the glass that Cana handed her. "Alright, I guess I can go for a couple of drinks."

But as always, one shot turned to two, which turned to three. Before she knew it, she was drunk along with the rest of the guild. Erza was barking orders at Gray and Gajeel while her husband was smartly hiding from the drunk redhead. Levy was laughing her ass off, ignoring her fiancé's cries for help while Juvia wept, begging Erza to be gentle on her boyfriend. Natsu was stuffing his face, yelling at Gray and Gajeel to man up and fight back. Meanwhile, Lucy was left with Cana.

The two girls had gotten closer since Lucy's first time in the basement. While their first meeting was a bit tense as Cana was bombarded with her presence, the brunette was actually very easygoing, perhaps even more than her rambunctious boyfriend. Take a shot with the girl and you immediately become her friend. And in Lucy's case, she was about eight shots in.

"So, how's the sex with Natsu?" Cana asked, taking another swig of her drink. Lucy recognized it as the bottle Natsu gave her for Christmas. Honestly, she was surprised it lasted this long, having come to realize that the brunette had quite the addiction.

While sober Lucy would usually get flustered at such a question, drunk Lucy merely laughed. "It's grrreat! I can't believe it took me this long to do it!"

"Wait, you're tellin' me it took you four lifetimes to get laid!?" Lucy nodded, to which Cana exploded in a fit of laughter. "That's crazy! With a rack like that, I assumed you'd be using those babies to get any guy you want!"

Lucy giggled as Cana grabbed her chest to further prove her point. "There wasn't a guy I wanted until now!" Glancing over to Natsu, she found him devouring a plate of chicken wings delivered by Mira- who was the only person in the group that decided not to drink.

"I want to make him purr," Lucy thought, a dopey smile stretching over her red face. And considering how touchy she got when she was drunk and the fact that she was spending the night, she was sure that she was going to have the chance to do so later.

Lucy groaned as she got up the next morning, clutching her pounding head. Rushing to the bathroom, she heaved into the toilet. She flushed with a grimace, feeling grossed out by throwing up in her boyfriend's bathroom, but she admittedly felt better after doing so.

When she went back to the room, she found that Natsu was snoring loud enough to wake all of Magnolia up. Grinning to herself, she figured that he was still tired after the sex they had last time- in which she did end up making him purr. Glancing at Gray's bed, she saw that he still hadn't returned to the shared room.

Feeling hungry, Lucy quietly headed out to the bar in the lounge. When she first came to the basement, she was uncomfortable grabbing food there. After all, that food was for the immortals. She didn't live there. But after having been told multiple times to not worry about it and having her stomach practically yelling at her, she decided to take their word for it and grab herself some breakfast.

The lounge was practically empty.

"Everyone's probably either in class or still hungover."

Truthfully, Lucy was surprised that she was faring so well. She figured everyone else must have ended up drinking more than her.

Reaching the bar, Lucy stopped in her tracks, her breath hitching in her throat. Mira stood at the bar with her back towards her as she wiped down a glass. Lucy suppressed the urge to run away when she saw Mira begin to turn towards her. When she did, her blue eyes widened, her hand slacking around the glass she was holding. Just as she did the first day they met, she dropped a glass. Only this time, her reflexes kicked in just in time to prevent it from shattering.

"Uhh, hi," Lucy said meekly. "I was just coming out for food. I-I can go back to Natsu's room though, I'm not that hungry!"

Mira gently placed the glass down and gave the blonde a weak smile. "N-No, it's okay. Is there anything in particular you want? I can make it for you."

Lucy briefly remembered Natsu telling her that Mira's cooking was the best. Still, not wanting to force the other girl to cook for her, she shook her head.

"That's okay, I can find something myself. You should relax."

Mira averted her gaze, nodding. Lucy noticed the other girl's hand sliding up to her chest, gripping the collar of her dress so tightly she was surprised it didn't tear. The air around them was thick. Neither of them said a word.

Mira forced her gaze to Lucy. The blonde was gnawing on her lower lip, staring at the floor as she fiddled with her fingers.

"I'm sorry."

Lucy whipped her head to meet the other girl's gaze, only to find that Mira was back to uncomfortably looking at the floor.

"F-For what?" she asked, confused.

"For being cold to you. I'm sorry."

Lucy gave a small smile. "It's okay, don't worry about it." They stood in silence yet again until she continued, "Though, I have to wonder, did I do something to upset you?"

"No, why?"

"Because you always seem so scared around me."

Mira shook her head, still unable to meet her gaze. Lucy wished she would.

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault. Some stuff… Some stuff happened with mortals before I joined Fairy Tail, so I am a bit on edge around them. I'm sorry."

Lucy's fingers twitched to give her a reassuring pat, but she decided against it. They were clearly not at that stage yet, and that was fine. She was patient.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," the girl said with a small smile. "And I know it's going to take some time to trust me, which is fine. I just want you to know that whatever they did to you, you can rest assured that I wouldn't ever do it."

Mira's hand tightened around her collar even more before her fingers finally loosened up. Slowly dropping her shaky hand to her side, she forced a smile to her face. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but she still felt she was making some progress.

"I know. I heard about how you spent Christmas at your home in order to make me feel more comfortable. Thank you for that, but I don't want to have to ask that from you. Instead…" She gnawed on her lower lip before steeling herself for what she was going to say next. "Instead, I want to ask for your help. I want to get better at dealing with mortals. I want to let my guard down so that one day I can leave the basement."

Lucy arched her brow. "I would love to help, but how would I do that?"

"By being my friend," Mira answered with a smile. A real smile. "I know it's going to take some time, and it's not going to come easy to me, but I really do want to become closer to you, Lucy. So, please be my friend."

Lucy blushed, rubbing the back of her head with a nervous chuckle. "You don't have to be so formal! Of course I'll be your friend!" She was going to give the other girl a hug, but decided against it in the end. It was better to take these things slow.

Soon after, Mira whipped up some pancakes for Lucy, despite her protests. After giving her a word of thanks, Lucy gratefully took the food, waved to her newest friend, and headed back to Natsu's room.

Mira took a deep breath once Lucy was out of sight. Her hands trembled, her legs threatening to give out on her.

"You okay?" she heard a familiar voice ask.

She didn't need to look to know that it was Cana.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up," Mira assured.

Cana saw right through her. "You know nobody is going to hold it against you if you don't talk to her, right? Even Lucy. She understands."

Mira nodded. "I know. But I really do want to get to know her. I want to see the outside world. I… I want to get better."

Cana smiled, placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Well, good thing Lucy is a nice girl. I'm sure the two of you will be the best of friends in no time."

To Lucy's surprise, Natsu was awake by the time she got back. He was scrolling through his phone when he heard her come in, not bothering to look up as he wanted to finish watching the video that captured his attention.

"Yo, Luce. Where were you?" he asked.

"I was grabbing some food, but that's not important. Natsu, get this!"

At the girl's exclamation, he paused the video he was watching and turned to face her. "What?"

"I talked to Mira!" Lucy gushed. "She asked me to be her friend!"

At that, Natsu dropped his phone. His gaze dropped to the plate of pancakes that rested in Lucy's hands. Figuring that she was too nervous to cook for herself in someone else's home, he easily deduced who whipped them up for her.

"No way," he breathed out, his eyes wide. "Mira said that?"

Lucy nodded. "Mhmm!" Taking a seat next to her boyfriend on the bed, she took a quick bite of one of the pancakes drizzled with syrup. Sure enough, they were heavenly, melting in her mouth. Now she understood what Natsu meant when he said she was the best chef.

Natsu helped himself to some of the pancakes as well. With a full mouth, he said, "Tell me everything!"

Lucy did as she was asked, going over everything and making sure not to leave out a single detail.

"She asked me to be her friend even though I could tell she was nervous," Lucy said. "Whenever we see each other, she always grabs at either her neck or her chest. I'm guessing it's a nervous tic she has."

Natsu rubbed the back of his head, a wary expression spreading over his face. "Ehh, not really. It actually has to do with why she doesn't like bein' around mortals."

Lucy glanced up at him, the obvious question forming at the tip of her tongue. Why? Not wanting to pry into Mira's life, she kept her mouth shut.

Natsu's soft chuckle brought her out of her thoughts. "You look like you wanna ask about it."

"No, not really," Lucy lied. She knew he could see through it. "I guess I am curious, but I don't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong."

"It's not really a secret. We just don't bring it up in front of her because we don't wanna hurt her. But I think you should know if you want to be her friend. That way you know what topics to avoid."

Lucy chewed on her lower lip, wondering if she should really ask about it. Remembering that Mira was there when she had talked about her previous lives, she thought maybe it would've been fair had she known about the other girl's life as well.

"Alright, tell me."

She had no way of knowing she was going to soon regret she asked.

Natsu heaved a long sigh, sitting up straighter and facing Lucy directly. Mira's story was one that he hated thinking about, but it was true that Lucy needed to know what topics to avoid when talking to the sensitive girl. Just one wrong word could send her into a full-blown panic attack that required lots of help to calm down.

"Mira lived in a really small village with her two siblings decades ago. Their names were Lisanna and Elfman. At first, things were good. They apparently didn't have much money, but they always managed to make ends meet. Their parents died when they were really young, so the rest of the village helped them out from time to time."

Natsu's face scrunched up in pain as he continued, "That's when Mira's death date came. You can only hide immortality for so long, especially when your younger siblings start aging when you don't. Mira began to question her body when she cut herself with a knife while she was cooking. As you could probably guess, it healed immediately. Lisanna and Elfman didn't care that Mira was different from them, even if they didn't understand it. For them, it didn't matter. But for the rest of the townspeople… Well, they weren't so accepting."

Lucy's stomach sank. She had a bad feeling about where the story was headed.

"When it was clear that Mira's body stopped aging, the village all turned on her," Natsu said, his brows furrowed. "…You've heard of the Salem Witch Trials, right?" She nodded. "Well, they thought Mira was a witch or a demon. It wasn't like Erza and Jellal's situation where they wanted to experiment and get to the root of immortality. They just wanted Mira to die."

Natsu shook his head. "But immortals don't die, no matter what people do to us."

"What did they do?" Lucy asked, her voice hushed. Her gut coiled as the story continued, and while she had a feeling she knew where the story was going to go, part of her no longer wanted to know.

"They did everything," Natsu said, his voice cracking. He gripped his thighs, bracing himself for the next part of the story. "We told you about the experimental phase immortals go through. We deliberately hurt ourselves to test the limits of our immortality. Usually, you only try out a couple of different methods before you eventually give up and accept your fate, but the villagers- the ones that used to love Mira- they didn't give up. They tried every method they could conjure up, from decapitation to strangulation. All kinds of torture."

Lucy's eyes welled with tears, her stomach lurching. "P-Please tell me it's almost over."

Natsu shook his head with a grimace. "They got frustrated that nothing was working. And while our bodies may be undying and have the ability to heal from any wound, our immortality doesn't give us any other powers like in the books. We don't get super speed or super strength. It was just Mira up against the whole village. She didn't stand a chance. Lisanna and Elfman begged the village to stop, but they didn't listen. They locked them up and hurt them too, just to make sure they weren't like Mira. Eventually, they realized there was nothing they could do to kill her."

Lucy wished that meant they let her go, but she knew not to be optimistic.

"I-I didn't mention it earlier, but Mira was actually engaged at the time," Natsu said, one hand gripping his hair as he took a deep breath to calm down. "Instead of fighting for his fiancée, he sided with the rest of the village. He was the one to do it to her."

Lucy knew she was going to regret it, but she reluctantly asked, "Do what?"

"When they finally accepted they couldn't kill her, they decided to get rid of her instead," Natsu replied. "They figured out of sight, out of mind. They wanted her last day to be hell, so they chained Lisanna and Elfman and dragged them to the lake where Mira was tied up. Her fiancé, he uhh… He umm…"

Natsu cleared his throat, feeling pesky tears pricking his eyes and a lump forming in his throat. "He chained weights to her ankles."

Lucy gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, running down her face. Her stomach lurched and she had to suppress the bile collecting in the back of her throat.

Natsu could tell that Lucy was reaching her limit. Hell, he was too. Still, he forced himself to continue.

"I'm sure you know what happens next… Mira begged for her fiancé to stop. She begged all of the village to let her go. And yet, that son of a bitch sneered in her face, calling her a demon and telling her she had it coming. He told her he was going to send her as close to hell as he could. He dragged her onto a boat, paddling them out to sea. Lisanna and Elfman screamed and struggled to get out of the villagers' hold on them, but they couldn't. All they could do was watch as Mira's fiancé pushed her off the boat, laughing when she screamed."

Lucy thought that would be the end of the story. It had to be. There was no way it could get worse. And yet, Natsu continued.

"After Mira sank to the bottom, the villagers untied Lisanna and Elfman. They knew that they were mortals and that there was no way of saving Mira. Still, they tried. Elfman swam straight out there and tried to swim down to the bottom for hours, but the water was so deep and so dark, he didn't even know if he was in the right spot. He couldn't hold his breath long enough to swim down. They couldn't save her on their own. They had to get help.

"They left the village in search of someone who could help Mira, but nobody would help. They either thought they were pulling a prank or they figured Mira was already dead. After all, immortality is hard to believe in. Until they finally met Mavis. But Mira… She was down there for years. Mavis and her friends followed Lisanna and Elfman across Fiore until they were back at their village. Everyone was happy, carefree. Her fiancé, the guy who was supposed to take care of her, ended up marrying somebody else and having kids. None of them suffered any consequences. They all got to live happily ever after."

Lucy could see darkness swimming in Natsu's eyes as he sneered at the thought of the mortals who hurt Mira. His body trembled, his fists clenched so tightly she was surprised his palms weren't dripping with blood.

"They went to work when the village was asleep. They took a canoe out and strung a 50 foot chain down the side of the boat. They paddled around, waiting for something to tug the chain. Eventually, they managed to pull Mira out, but she was never the same after that."

Natsu's anger morphed into sadness and he continued, "When Mavis brought Mira and the others to Fairy Tail, she never spoke. Lisanna and Elfman warmed up quickly to everyone, but it took years for Mira to say a single word to us. When she first got here, she didn't even believe in immortality. Those sick fuckers actually managed to make her believe that she was a demon. That she didn't deserve to be alive. She was put in intensive therapy.

"Eventually, Mira slowly started to open up to the rest of the immortals. She made lots of progress in therapy, and she was able to smile again, but she still suffers from PTSD. She can't be around mortals, she can't be submerged in water. Hell, she can't even take a bath without screaming."

Natsu fiddled with his fingers. "You know, she talked about it once. Only once. She explained what it was like to drown. The way her lungs tightened. The way water filled her throat when she could no longer keep her mouth closed. It was pitch black underwater, she couldn't see a thing. She had to deal with that pain for six years."

Lucy couldn't take it anymore. She shot out of her seat, running to the nearest trashcan and throwing up. Even after puking, her stomach never settled. She clenched the rim of the trashcan, sobbing when she thought about how painful it must have been. She knew what it was like to suffocate, but the pain only lasted for minutes. She couldn't imagine enduring that for hours, let alone years.

Stumbling back towards the bed, Lucy felt hollow as she sat down. Her body raked with tremors, her breaths ragged. Each time she thought of Mira suffering, her eyes filled with more tears.

"I-I had no idea such horrible things could happen to people," she whispered. Her voice was raspy from crying.

Natsu nodded, grabbing her hands and smoothing his thumbs over them. "That was why Gajeel and the others had a hard time accepting you at first. Stories like that… They don't happen to all of us immortals, but they make us think. They make us put a guard up because we know firsthand it could happen to any one of us."

Lucy's eyes widened as she whipped her head towards him. "D-Did it happen to you?"

Natsu shook his head. "I was one of the luckier ones. Gramps recruited me before others could really catch on. But Erza and Jellal, Gajeel and Juvia… They all had run-ins with mortals that affect them, even to this day."

"I see…" Lucy took a deep breath. She wondered if she had ever accidentally said anything to trigger their bad memories. If so, she definitely had to learn more about their past so as to keep from doing it again, no matter how painful it was to hear.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. 

“Merry Christmas, Lucy!” the rest of the gang shouted the moment she opened the door. 

Lucy beamed at them. “Merry Christmas, you guys! Thanks for coming over!”

As everyone headed inside, Lucy noticed that she wasn’t the only one dressed for the holidays. Juvia adorned a beautiful blue dress covered in snowflakes and sparkles, a little tiara resting on her head. 

“Juvia is an ice princess,” the girl said when she noticed Lucy staring.

“You look beautiful, Juvia!” she replied. And it was true. The blue complimented her hair and fair skin perfectly. Her eyes moved over to Gray. He wore a top hat and some black jeans. As usual, he was without a shirt. “What’s up with the hat?”

“The guild always makes me dress as Frosty the Snowman on Christmas,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“So you wore a hat? Or was there more of the costume that you stripped away?”

“There was more, but they’re long gone by now.”

Lucy nodded, moving her gaze over to Erza and Jellal. While they weren’t fully dressed up like Juvia and herself, they wore cute reindeer headbands. 

Levy, on the other hand, wore an adorable elf costume. It was red and green, which although contrasted her hair greatly, still managed to look amazing on her. Her leggings were striped in the same green and red, and her hat had a bell at the tip. 

“You look so cute, Levy-chan!” Lucy gushed, wrapping the petite girl in a hug. 

“You too, Lu-chan!” the girl replied. 

Gajeel pushed past the two girls, allowing Lucy to see his costume. He was dressed in a Santa costume, his hair spray-dyed white. A scowl was plastered to his face as he grumbled, “Damn Shrimp, makin’ me dress up like this.” 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Levy cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered to Lucy, “I didn’t make him dress up like that. He woke up hours before everyone else so that he could get ready.”

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle her laughter. Just the thought of Gajeel happily getting ready to dress up as Santa Claus had her nearly hunched over in laughter.

“Your apartment is so festive, Lucy,” Erza’s voice called out to her. 

“Thanks!” she replied, her smile as bright as the lit-up Christmas tree she had Natsu put in the corner of the living room. Lights were strewn across the ceiling, decorations were tacked to the wall, and she even woke up early in the morning to bake Christmas cupcakes. To say she loved Christmas was an understatement. She hadn’t been able to really celebrate the holiday in a long time, so now she was going all out.

“Can we open presents already!?” Natsu asked, bouncing excitedly in his seat.

“We just got here, idiot,” Gray said, rolling his eyes. 

Erza chimed in, “I agree with Natsu. We should open presents now.” Even though she kept a straight face and was still in her seat unlike Natsu, the twinkle in her eye made it obvious she was looking forward to presents just as much as he was. 

“Presents it is then,” Lucy said with a laugh. Everyone sat in the living room, presents sitting in their laps. With how big their group was, they decided to do a secret Santa exchange to save money. “Who goes first?”

“I will!” Erza exclaimed, a bright grin settling over her face. “Whoever got me, step forward!”

Lucy stood from the couch. “That would be me!” Handing Erza the gift, she watched as the redhead tore away the wrapping paper in an instant, revealing a rectangular box. Lucy watched anxiously as Erza removed the tape from the box’s sides. She may not have known Erza long, but she thought she knew her well enough. Though the redhead tried to hide it, there was a girly side to her. 

Erza opened the box, pulling out a violet dress. It was made of silk and was long enough to reach the floor. The sides were slit to reveal her legs, giving it a sexier feel.

“This dress is gorgeous, Lucy!” Erza said in awe. She grabbed the tag, her eyes bugging out of her head as she read the label. “HK!? This must’ve cost a fortune!”

“It wasn’t too bad,” Lucy replied, waving her off. Though in truth, that dress alone cost most of her allowance. Still, it was worth it to see her friend smile. 

Erza stood from the couch, holding her arms out in front of her for a hug. Lucy winced, knowing how rough the redhead could be. Knowing it was rude to turn it down, Lucy went in for a hug, praying that she wouldn’t bruise from it. Sure enough, Erza smashed her head down on her chest in what only she would call a hug. 

“Thank you, Lucy!” Erza said.

“D-Don’t mention it,” she replied. She sat back down on the couch, her head dizzy.

“Her hugs hurt, huh?” Natsu whispered in her ear.

“So badly,” Lucy replied with a nod. She then watched as Erza handed Juvia a small box. The wrapping paper was crinkled, and looking closely, Lucy could see that there were some extra scraps taped on, probably because she ripped the bottom layer. 

Gently tearing the wrapping paper away, Juvia opened the box to find four slips of paper. Confused, she picked them up and read the words printed on them. Immediately, a bright smile graced her face. 

“Oh, thank you, Erza!” she exclaimed.

“Wait, what is it?” Levy asked, unable to see what they were from where she sat. 

Juvia held up the slips of paper. “They’re two train tickets to Crocus and to the Crocus Garden!” 

“No way!” Lucy shouted. “I heard that they have a rainbow sakura tree over there! I’ve always wanted to go!”

“Well, the extra ticket was meant for Gray, but I suppose you could bring Lucy instead,” Erza said with a shrug.

Lucy laughed at the panic that washed over Juvia’s face. “Don’t worry, Juvia. You don’t have to bring me. It sounds like a fun date for you and Gray!”

The blue-headed girl heaved a sigh of relief. 

Natsu nudged her lightly. 

“I didn’t know you wanted to go there,” he said.

Lucy smiled at him. “Yeah. I’ve never been to Crocus before. I would love to see the rainbow sakura tree someday.”

“Then I’ll take ya there!”

“The train ride is over six hours long. I don’t think you’d last, Natsu.”

The boy glared at her, crossing his arms with a huff. “If you wanna go there, then I don’t care how long the train ride is. We’re going!”

Lucy giggled at his pouty face, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Natsu. I’m looking forward to it.”

Turning her attention back on Juvia, she watched the girl hand Gajeel his gift. It was kept in a tiny gift bag, small enough to make Lucy wonder what could possibly fit in it. Reaching inside, Gajeel pulled out what looked like a receipt. His eyes scanned the printed words before his eyes grew wide.

“No fucking way,” he said, whipping his head towards Juvia.

The girl nodded quickly, her smile wide. “Yep! Juvia bought you an electric guitar! Juvia left it back home though because it was too hard to wrap.”

Lucy’s jaw dropped on its hinges. An electric guitar? That blew the cost of the designer dress she bought Erza out of the water! How Juvia could afford to even buy it, she didn’t know. 

She watched as Gajeel- the boy who was usually a snarky hardass- turned into a weeping mess as he thanked Juvia and showed Levy the receipt. 

Lucy was surprised that Juvia would spend so much money for someone that wasn’t Gray, but after hearing from Natsu that the two were best friends since before even joining Fairy Tail, she couldn’t say she was too surprised. They must’ve known each other for decades- hell, depending on how old they were, maybe even centuries. He always stood up for her when people made fun of her for speaking in third person, and she was the one that dragged him from heading down a dark path and into Fairy Tail. Their friendship was strong, and Lucy admired that.

Lucy was brought from her thoughts when she heard Gajeel and Natsu arguing. Apparently Natsu was teasing Gajeel for crying. Before a fight could break out, Lucy and Levy forced their boyfriends to sit down by pulling on their ears.

Gajeel grumbled to himself before handing Jellal his present. 

Jellal’s brows rose. “You didn’t have to buy me a Christmas present. You just bought me a birthday present a few weeks ago.”

“Yeah, yeah. You say that every year. You should know by now that people are still gonna get you a Christmas present,” Gajeel replied, rolling his eyes.

Jellal smiled before ripping away the wrapping paper. Inside was a leatherback journal along with a calligraphy set. 

“I know Erza retrieved your old research journal from a museum or whatever, but I figured you could use a new one. And Shrimp here told me that you like to do calligraphy too.”

“I do. Thank you, Gajeel. It’s very thoughtful.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Lucy chuckled. “What a tsundere.”

Gajeel turned red in the face. “Shut up!”

Jellal grabbed a perfectly wrapped gift- much different than the gift his wife had wrapped- and handed it to Natsu. The pink-haired boy lit up like the Christmas tree, snatching it with a quick word of thanks before ripping into it like his life had depended on it. He uncovered a box full of different snacks, hot sauces from all over the world, and gift cards to fast food chains. 

“I truly did not know what else to get you besides food,” Jellal admitted. “After you caught the basement on fire with the pyrotechnics kit I bought you, I was prohibited from making that mistake again.”

Natsu grinned, grabbing a bag of chips and tearing into it. “Hey, this works for me!” Grabbing the wrapped gift at his ankle, he tossed it to Levy. “Oi, catch!”

Levy squealed, fumbling as she just barely caught the present. “I’m assuming this isn’t fragile.”

“Nope. But it did cost an arm and a leg to get it, so you better be glad!”

Levy perked a brow before opening the present. Inside the box was a stack of papers, stapled at the top. Her eyes scanned the words, confused as to what it could’ve been. 

“What is it?” she asked. It appeared to be a story, though there was no covering to it. 

“It’s a Heartfilia original!”

Levy’s eyes nearly burst out of their sockets. She whipped her head between Natsu and Lucy, the latter blushing. 

“Lu-chan wrote this?”

The blonde nodded. “It’s the very first story I’ve written. I started that way back during my first lifetime and I recently finished it. When I told Natsu about it, he said that he wanted to give it to you for Christmas. You’ll officially be my first reader, just like I promised!”

Levy burst into a fit of tears before tackling Natsu and Lucy to the ground. “I’ve been waiting for this day for forever! Thanks, you guys!”

Natsu laughed. “Don’t mention it!”

“And don’t show it to people either! It’s embarrassing!” Lucy added. 

Levy nodded, eager to read the story when Gajeel reminded her they were still in the process of Secret Santa. 

“Oh, right. Here you go, Gray!”

The boy thanked her as he accepted the gift. It was in a small gift bag. Reaching his hand in, he pulled out two slips of paper. 

“H-Holy shit!” he shouted. “These are concert tickets to see Lyra! They’re my favorite band!”

Natsu stood up, grabbing a ticket to see it himself. “No way! You gotta give me the extra ticket!”

“Why the hell would I wanna see a concert with you!?”

“Not like I wanna see one with you either, but I love Lyra too!”

“You can give the extra ticket to whoever you want,” Levy said with a shrug. Truthfully she wanted Secret Santa to end as quickly as possible so she could hurry up and read Lucy’s story. “Anyways, you’re next, Gray!”

   Gray handed Juvia the tickets for safekeeping- mainly to make sure Natsu didn’t steal one. He stood up and headed towards Lucy, the last person left in Secret Santa. 

“I got you, Lucy,” he said, his lips curled into a small smile.

She mirrored his expression, accepting the gift. She assumed he wasn’t good at wrapping since it was in a bag. When she reached inside the bag, she realized that he didn’t even use tissue paper to hide the present. 

Her fingers brushed against something smooth. Grabbing the object carefully, she pulled it out of the bag. It was a beautiful wooden box, its edges intricately carved. The top was painted a stunning starry landscape. She went to open the box, only to find a heart-shaped lock keeping it shut.

“The key is in the bag too,” Gray said, noticing her confusion.

She fished inside the gift bag for the key, inserting it into the lock and opening the box. The inside was lined with velvet, and the top had a small mirror glued to it. Lined pads were in the box, clueing Lucy into what the box was.

“It’s a jewelry box,” Gray said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I made it myself.” Smiling over at his girlfriend, he added, “Juvia painted the top though.”

“Thank you, Gray!” Lucy exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and hugging the boy. “It’s beautiful! I can’t believe you made it yourself!”

“Don’t mention it. I figured it’d be better than leaving your locket in a tampon box. That’s what the lock is for. Now you can keep it somewhere clean and safe.”

Tears pricked Lucy’s eyes. He made it so that she can hide her locket? Throwing her arms around the boy, she thanked him again, all the while wondering how she managed to find such great friends. She also made sure to thank Juvia for the beautiful painting she did on the box. 

         As the group split up into pairs to gush over their presents, Lucy excused herself to go to the restroom. When she was finished, she was surprised to find Natsu waiting outside the door. 

  “What are you doing?” the girl asked. She had known him long enough to recognize that mischievous glint in his eyes. 

   Instead of replying, the boy simply pointed up. Following his finger, Lucy found mistletoe taped in the doorway of the bathroom, hanging above them. Natsu’s hand slid up her thigh below her skirt. 

   “Are you crazy?” Lucy whispered, peering over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming. “Everyone is here right now! We could get caught!”

   “Good luck being quiet then,” Natsu replied with an evil grin. He slid his hand up to her rear, giving it a squeeze. Pushing her hair out of the way, he sank his lips over her neck. 

   Lucy gnawed on her lower lip in hopes of staying quiet. “You know, a mistletoe is just for a quick kiss on the lips, not this.”

   Natsu shrugged, continuing his exploration of her neck. His hands slowly grazed her curves until brushing against the side of her breasts. Before he could grab them, Lucy reluctantly pulled away from him with a glare. 

   “Not while our friends are here!” she said, smoothing out her dress. She lightly smacked his hand away when he tried to reach out to her again. Sticking her tongue out at him playfully, she scurried off to join the rest of their friends back in the living room. Natsu chuckled before following after her. 

   Eventually, the group cleaned up the apartment as it was time to head back to Fairy Tail for the next Christmas party. 

   “Are you sure you don’t wanna join us, Lucy?” Gray asked. 

   Lucy nodded, faking a yawn. “Yeah, I’m a bit tired now. But I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” The only person she told about the real reason she didn’t want to go to Fairy Tail was Natsu. She didn’t want the others to worry and try to reassure her. She was fine with them going to celebrate with the rest of the immortals. She was happy enough with the time she got to spend with them. 

   The group nodded, saying their last goodbyes before heading out the door. Natsu stayed behind. 

   “Are you really sure about this?” he asked. He still hated the thought of leaving her by herself on Christmas.

   Lucy smiled. “Yes, Natsu. I’m fine, I promise.”

   “We can just stay in my room the whole time if you’re that worried about Mira!”

   “No. I want you to be able to celebrate with everyone. And I’m sure they’re looking forward to celebrating with you too. I’m fine, Natsu. Now shoo.”

   Natsu sighed in defeat. “Alright, but I’m coming right back here later tonight, okay? And if you change your mind, let me know and I’ll come walk you to Fairy Tail. Or if you get lonely I can come here.”

   “Yeah, yeah, I understand. Now go. You’re already late enough as it is.”

   Natsu gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later.” 

   Before he could change his mind, Lucy waved and quickly shut the door, locking it so he knew she was serious about wanting him to have fun with everyone else. Staring at her empty apartment, admittedly the girl did feel a pinch of loneliness. Regardless, this was the best Christmas she’d had since her first life, she could deal with a couple of hours on her own. Grabbing a cup of hot chocolate, she curled up in a thick blanket and turned on a Christmas movie. The loneliness she felt quickly faded away. 

   Natsu cheered with the rest of the immortals, clinking his glass of spiked eggnog with everyone else. They had just finished the annual Fairy Tail Secret Santa. For this Secret Santa, he was assigned Cana, who was by far one of the easiest people to shop for. Give the girl a bottle of booze and she’s indebted to you for life. 

   He had also gotten a gift from Juvia, who was his Secret Santa. It was a hoodie from his favorite band, along with their newest CD. He still had to give Lucy her gifts later, and was eager to see what she got him as well. This year was shaping up to be the best Christmas ever. 

   When the party died down and people started heading to their rooms, Natsu decided that it was time to head back to Lucy’s. He went to his room to grab the gift he kept stashed away so that she wouldn’t find it. 

   “You heading over to Lucy’s now?” Gray asked after entering their room. 

   “Yep. Just had to get her present first.”

   “So, what’s the real reason she didn’t want to come over here? She wasn’t really tired, right? Is she still feeling nervous around everyone?” 

   “Kinda,” Natsu answered, rubbing the back of his head. “Truthfully it’s just Mira.”

   Gray winced. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” 

   Mira was a nice girl, one of the nicest he had ever known. Unfortunately, her past with the mortals was the most traumatizing story he had ever heard. It was one that everyone knew not to ever bring up, for they knew the girl was haunted by it everyday. Nobody could blame her for keeping her guard up around Lucy, nor could they blame her for being the only immortal to turn down a chance at seeing the outside world. 

   “Yeah. I told Lucy that it wasn’t personal and that Mira was a bit different than the rest of us, but she still decided to stay home. She didn’t want Mira feeling uncomfortable on Christmas.”

   Gray smiled. “Lucy’s a really nice girl, huh.”

   “Yep,” Natsu replied with a grin of his own. “Anyways, I’m out of here.” 

   With hurried steps, the boy rushed up the stairs of the basement and out the door. He made sure to lock the doors to the pub behind him since the immortals were free to roam the top floor on Christmas. 

   Excited to see Lucy and still feeling guilty for leaving her, Natsu wasted no time in unlocking the door and closing it behind him. What he saw when he turned around made his jaw drop to the floor. 

There in the living room stood Lucy, practically naked. She still adorned the Santa hat she wore earlier, but she had discarded the dress. Instead, she had a Christmas bow taped to the middle of her collarbone, the ends flowing and covering her nipples. She also wore red underwear with white trimming on the edges. 

   “Welcome back,” Lucy said, her hands behind her back. 

   “How long were you waiting there like that?” Natsu asked, nearly choking on his tongue while he ogled her. 

   “Not too long.” Lucy lifted her arm above her head, revealing a mistletoe in her hand. “Well? Are you going to join me?”

   Natsu nodded his head so fast it felt like it was going to fall off. He ripped off his pants and rushed towards her, nearly tripping in his haste. Grabbing her by the hips, he crashed his lips upon hers. 

   “I take it this is my Christmas present?” he asked with a grin, lightly tugging the end of the bow that was taped to her. 

   “Yep. Wanna unwrap me?” 

   Natsu’s hands eagerly ripped the bow off of her before carrying her to the bed. Dropping her on the bed, he quickly tore off his shirt. Lucy squirmed below him, anticipation filling her fingertips as she tugged on his boxers. Without wasting another second, he took them off along with hers. 

   “You are so hot, Lucy,” Natsu said as he pressed his face between her breasts. He always enjoyed the feeling of being between them. 

   “Oh yeah?” Lucy replied with a smile. His praise always managed to turn her on. 

   “Mhmm. I mean, you were practically naked when I got here.”

   “Because I’ve been looking forward to this all day. Now, are you going to get me off or am I going to have to do it myself?”

   Natsu grinned before grabbing her breast in one hand while nuzzling the other. He could feel Lucy moving below him, trying to guide his cock to her folds. In his haze, he remembered the last time they had sex. 

   “That’s right, I have to repay you for last time,” Natsu said.

   “Hmm?” Lucy absentmindedly hummed out, too focused on the work he was doing on her breasts. 

   Instead of using his words to explain, Natsu trailed kisses from her breasts down to her navel, then to her thighs. He left feather-light kisses over right thigh, hovering over her folds before moving to her left. He stifled a laugh as he could feel Lucy getting impatient every time he neared her folds. Unable to hold himself back for too long, he pressed his lips against her flesh, slowly sucking on her skin. 

   Lucy nearly screamed at the sudden pleasure that raked her body the moment Natsu’s lips touched her sensitive skin. Her breaths grew louder as his lips worked over her. When his tongue suddenly grazed her clitoris, she let out a harsh breath. 

   “Fuck,” she said, covering her mouth with one hand while the other gripped the sheets. 

   Natsu glanced up at her with a proud grin. Grabbing her wrist, he pinned it to her side. 

   “I wanna hear you,” he said before returning his lips to her flesh. His tongue circled around her entrance before delving into her. Since he stopped her from covering her mouth, she opted for grabbing his hair instead, finding that she had to do something with her hands. His mouth was driving her crazy. 

   “N-Natsu,” she breathed out. “I’m not going to last long at this rate.”

   “That’s fine,” he replied, his breath warm against her flesh. It sent a shiver down her spine. “I want to make you cum like this anyways.”

   Not bothering to wait for her reply, he dragged his tongue over her clitoris before giving it a hard kiss. Lucy screamed out in pleasure, thrusting her hips and grinding his face. Switching from kissing and licking, he knew that Lucy was about to break, judging from her quick breaths and the way her legs shook around his neck. In seconds, she shuddered against him, her grip tightening on his hair as she moaned out his name. 

   When it was clear she was done, Natsu laid beside her with a grin. 

   “Well? How was it?” he asked. Though, he could tell from her flushed cheeks that it was more than good.

   Lucy tried to regain her breath as she replied, “We’re definitely doing that again sometime.”

   “Sounds good to me.”

   “Well, it’s your turn now!” Lucy exclaimed, sitting up. She positioned herself between his legs, stroking his hot shaft. 

   Taking a quick peek at him, she found his eyes squeezed shut as he enjoyed himself. Not wanting to keep him waiting, Lucy dragged her tongue against his cock before shoving it in her mouth. She started slow, still not used to this yet. When she started to feel more comfortable, she pushed herself further, allowing his whole shaft into her mouth. 

   “Fuck, Lucy,” Natsu ground out. 

   Knowing that he enjoyed it, Lucy picked up the pace while still going as far as she could. Tears pricked her eyes, but she ignored it in favor of pleasuring him the way he did for her.  

   Natsu tried to control his breathing, but the way Lucy’s hot mouth tugged on his cock had him nearing sweet release. 

   “L-Lucy, I’m about to cum,” he warned. 

   The blonde only nodded. That only made the fire in Natsu burn hotter. 

   Lucy, feeling adventurous, decided she wanted to try something new. Something that she had read about in a mature book once. 

   Instead of shoving his cock as far as she could in her mouth, she went halfway down his shaft. Using her hand, she pumped the lower half while sucking the top. 

   In seconds, Lucy felt something hot shoot into her mouth as Natsu shook beneath her with a groan. She allowed him to ride out his orgasm before eventually withdrawing. Not knowing what to do with the liquid in her mouth, she quickly gulped it down. 

   Natsu winced. “Sorry, was it gross?”

   Lucy shook her head. “Not at all, no need to apologize. I wanted to do it.” 

   Natsu smiled. The two laid there in a content silence, their bodies tired. When they finally regained their energy, Lucy stood up from the bed and grabbed something from the closet. Turning around, she smiled while holding a neatly wrapped gift. 

   “You got me a gift?” Natsu asked, his voice laced with childlike excitement. 

   “Duh! You didn’t really think sex was your only gift, right?” Handing him the gift, she watched as he tore off the wrapping paper and quickly opened the box to reveal a painting of him and Igneel. 

   Natsu looked up at Lucy with watery eyes. “W-What… How did you do this?”

   “I commissioned an artist to paint it for me,” she answered. “I noticed that the picture you have of you and Igneel was old and a little torn, probably because of how much time had passed since it was printed. I didn’t want it to get ruined since it’s your only picture with Igneel, so I had someone recreate it. A canvas is more durable than a picture, so hopefully it’ll-!”

   Lucy’s words were cut short as Natsu pulled her in for a tight hug. She could feel the light tremors of his body. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to cry onto her shoulder. 

   “Do you like it?” she asked. 

   Natsu pulled away, wiping his eyes before smiling at her. “I love it. Thanks, Lucy. Oh, I got you a gift too.” Grabbing his previously discarded sweater, he pulled out a long, velvet box from the pocket. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it. And it’s not as good as the gift you gave me…”

   Lucy lifted his chin to meet his gaze. “I’ll love it. Don’t worry. Can I see what it is?”

   Natsu nodded, handing her the box and watching as she opened it. Upon doing so, Lucy gasped, one of her hands flying up to her mouth. Inside the box was a beautiful necklace with dangling diamond charms of constellations. 

   “Natsu, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. She gave him a worried look. “This must have cost a fortune!”

   The boy shrugged with a laugh. “Don’t worry about that. My housing and tuition is free, so I have a good amount of money saved up. You like it?”

   Lucy nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. She had never received a Christmas gift from a boyfriend before, and his knocked it out of the park. 

   “Of course I do! It’s beautiful! Thank you so much, Natsu!” 

   “I’m sorry mine isn’t as sentimental as yours. I probably should’ve put more thought into it. I just know you really like stars, so I wanted to get you something related to that.”

   Lucy grabbed his hand with a smile. “Do you know why I love the stars?” After he shook his head, she continued, “It’s because of my first mother. We used to stargaze every night, and she taught me about a bunch of constellations, all of them being on this necklace. This necklace is plenty sentimental. Thank you, Natsu. I love it so much.”

   They hugged again. 

   “Merry Christmas, Lucy.”

Lucy was surprised she was relatively early to her first class, taking a seat in the back. This quarter, all three of her classes were squeezed into the same days, but luckily she only had classes Tuesday and Thursday. That left her with the rest of the week to do whatever she wanted. Her first class was English with a professor named Virgo. According to Makarov, she was also a reincarnation. Lucy hoped she would be able to talk to her about it.

Suddenly, the seat next to her was pulled out. Lucy turned to find a boy with dirty blonde hair sitting next to her, flashing her a dazzling smile. His eyes were dark, his lashes long. If Lucy were single, she was sure she would be swooning over the pretty boy.

"Nice to meet you," the boy said, taking her hand in his. "I'm Hibiki. What might your name be, beautiful?"

Lucy was taken aback by his brazenness, reminded of her first boyfriend. "I'm Lucy."

"Lucy. What a pretty name!"

"Uhh, thanks."

"So, Lucy, what year are you?"

"I'm a freshman."

Hibiki gasped. "Me too! It must be fate that we met today!"

Lucy nearly rolled her eyes. "Fate? This is English 101, everyone here is a freshman."

Before Hibiki could reply, someone cleared their throat at the front of the room, grabbing her attention. It was a woman, relatively short with a pink pixie cut. Her eyes were a jaded blue.

"I'm Virgo, your professor for this quarter."

Lucy leaned forward in her seat, eager to learn more about the fellow reincarnation.

Once class ended, Lucy quickly packed her things before heading to her next class. She wished she could have talked to Virgo about reincarnation, but there were too many people around, not to mention she had limited time to make it to her next class. Not that there was a need to rush. She had all quarter to talk to the fellow reincarnation.

During her walk across campus, Lucy was surprised to find that Hibiki was walking along with her.

"Umm, is there a reason you're going this way?" she asked, starting to get weirded out by the boy.

He arched his brow. "My class is this way."

"Oh, okay."

When Lucy made it to her next class, she stopped outside the door to glare at Hibiki, who had followed her all the way there.

"Okay, you're stalking me," she said, crossing her arms.

Hibiki laughed awkwardly. "I'm not, I swear! I have this class!"

"There's no way we're in the same class! Show me your schedule!" The boy handed her his schedule, which she glossed over quickly. "Wait, we share every class together! How the hell did that happen?"

"I told you it was fate!" Hibiki exclaimed, grabbing Lucy's hand. He went to place a kiss over it, but she snatched it away.

"I can't believe how similar you are to an old friend of mine," she said, rolling her eyes.

"This friend of yours must have been charming!"

She laughed, and in a voice laced with sarcasm she replied, "Big time. Well, if we're going to be in all the same classes together, we might as well be friends. But no funny business, alright? I have a boyfriend."

Hibiki held his chest in mock pain. "I should have known a girl as beautiful as yourself was taken."

The two walked to the back of the classroom, taking their seats.

"So, what are you majoring in?" Lucy asked. She wasn't used to making friends on her own, but with Hibiki's laidback and all too familiar personality, she found it easy to slide into a conversation.

"Computer science. What about you?"

"Creative writing."

Lucy was about to ask the boy where he was from when their professor stepped into the room. He was a tall and lanky man with black hair. Unlike Virgo, he was a bit older, a couple of wrinkles adorning his face around his mouth. He wore a dark green turtleneck and black slacks that accentuated his slender legs.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Sagittarius. I will be your World History professor. I assume everyone came prepared with their textbooks."

Lucy sweat dropped. It was only the first day of the quarter, she didn't have her textbook yet. As if sensing her dilemma, she felt Hibiki nudge her elbow that was resting on the desk before he slid his textbook between the two of them to share. She shot him a quick grin.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He returned the smile. "Don't mention it."

Class seemed to drag on forever, Sagittarius' emotionless voice doing nothing to help as he discussed the contents of the first chapter. While Lucy may not have been an immortal who lived through most of the world's events, she had still been around long enough to have been through a good chunk of them. That, along with taking the same classes every lifetime, made learning relatively easy.

Once class ended, Lucy and Hibiki walked to a small coffee shop that was on campus. They had thirty minutes before their next class, and considering it was the first day, they didn't have too much homework to do yet. Instead, they decided to chat over a cup of coffee, which Lucy insisted on paying for since Hibiki was nice enough to share his textbook and send pictures of the portions she would need for homework later.

Lucy found it strange just how similar Hibiki was to her first boyfriend. She figured that was why it was easy to open up to him. Already familiar with flirty playboys, his personality didn't scare her away. Instead, it made things easier.

"I guess making friends isn't so hard."

The two talked about everything, ranging from where they grew up to what they wanted to do after college. Lucy had to admit, it was fun making new friends.

When they headed to their last class for the day, they took seats in the back yet again. It didn't take long for their professor to stumble in the room. Lucy's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets seeing how absolutely ripped the man was. It looked like his white button-up shirt was going to pop any second with how large his muscles were.

"Yo! I'm Taurus!" the man exclaimed. His eyes filtered around the room, hearts practically shining in them whenever they glazed over a girl. Lucy wondered how he was able to teach given his pervy attitude.

Yet, when he started to go over the math topics they were going to learn over the quarter, all playfulness disappeared from his voice, replaced with seriousness. Unlike with Sagittarius, Taurus was surprisingly good at keeping the class engaged, and despite how hard to believe it was, he managed to make math seem somewhat interesting. Time practically flew by. To make matters even better, Taurus dismissed them without assigning any homework.

Heading out of the classroom, Hibiki invited Lucy to hang out.

"Thanks, but I have an old professor I want to catch up with," Lucy said with a smile. She was proud of herself for having made a friend already, one that even wanted to hang out with her after school.

Hibiki's eyes widened. "Oh, is it your boyfriend? Are you dating your old professor?"

"What? No! My boyfriend goes to this school too, but he's not a professor. Just a student."

"Oh. I'd love to meet the man that stole your heart! He must be quite the specimen!"

Lucy laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you'll meet him someday considering he plans on picking me up from school everyday. Anyways, I have to go. I'll see you Thursday!"

Waving a quick goodbye to her new friend, Lucy headed towards Aquarius' office. It was clear that Aquarius knew about her reincarnation, so why didn't she ever say anything instead of giving cryptic clues? And how did she even know about it in the first place? Had she slipped up in any way? If that was the case, she needed to know to make sure not to repeat the mistake in the future.

Reaching the cranky professor's office, Lucy peered inside to find the woman glaring at her computer screen. She wasn't surprised that there weren't any students utilizing Aquarius' office hours. After all, she was terrifying.

Feeling irked that Aquarius had kept things hidden from her, Lucy strode inside the office without bothering to knock and planted her hands on her hips with a glare. The older woman glanced up at her, a scowl immediately gracing her face.

"What do you want, brat? I thought I was finally free of you," she remarked.

Lucy closed the door behind her, locking it. "How did you know about me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. Makarov already told me about you, along with the others. Why didn't you tell me?"

Aquarius sighed, the scowl on her face finally relenting. When she looked back up at Lucy, her features were softer, a rare expression on the woman's face.

"We wanted you to find out on your own," she finally answered. "I assume Makarov told you about Acnologia and the other immortals?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. He told me about how we're all being hunted by some psychopath."

"And how did you take it?"

"...Not well, I guess."

"That's why I decided it was best not to tell you."

"But why?" Lucy asked. "Obviously I would have liked to know that there are others like me! What does Acnologia have to do with anything!?"

Because I didn't want you to be paranoid," Aquarius answered. "Do you know how many reincarnations live in fear for the rest of their lives, over and over again all because they found out about Acnologia? We already have enough to worry about, it's better not to have the knowledge of yet another threat to us. Besides, I was also doing it for you and Pinkie."

"You mean Natsu? What does he have to do with it?"

"Well you're dating, aren't you? I didn't want you to get scared of him since he's an immortal and all."

Lucy choked on her saliva. "W-What? How did you know about that?"

Aquarius sighed, tired of having to explain things. "I know about all of the immortals enrolled at this school, even the ones that are in Fairy Tail's basement. Considering the past between reincarnations and immortals, we are given information about each immortal so that we can choose if we want to work here or not."

"So you really knew this whole time? How did you know about me?"

"I actually met you in your first life."

Lucy felt the wind getting knocked out of her with that revelation. Feeling dizzy, she took a seat across from Aquarius, resting her head in her hands.

"I don't remember you," she finally said, meeting the older woman's gaze.

"That's because you were just a baby at the time," Aquarius replied.

"How did you know about me then? You couldn't have possibly recognized me when I was just a baby."

"I was friends with your mom. You're strangely enough the spitting image of her- though you lack all of her grace. When I first saw you, I thought that you were her and that she was a reincarnation as well. Until I found out your name, then I remembered that she named her daughter Lucy. It wasn't too hard to put the pieces together after that, though I did do a bit of research on you as well just to be sure."

Lucy gave a sad smile remembering her first mother. "I can't believe you knew her."

"It was a shock to me too when I first saw you," Aquarius replied, her own lips tugging upwards into a smile. "She was a fine woman, which is why it's so surprising you turned out like that. It must be the fault of the rest of your parents." Lucy shot her a glare before Aquarius continued, "Anyways, it was my idea to keep you from the truth, so don't even think about getting mad at Scorpio and the others."

"Don't worry, I'm not mad anymore. Just a little surprised is all. I still can't believe there are so many others like me, and that there are so many near me too."

"Who are your teachers this quarter?"

"Virgo, Sagittarius, and Taurus."

"Ah. Did you know they're all reincarnations too?"

Lucy grinned cheek to cheek. "Wow! I heard Virgo was, but I didn't know Sagittarius and Taurus were too!"

Aquarius nodded. "If you want, you would probably be allowed to teach here if you wanted. All you have to do is turn in an application to Makarov. You'd be allowed to come here every lifetime if you choose to do so."

Lucy considered the option. Truthfully, she had no idea what the future had in store for her. Still, it was nice to have another option available to her. Especially since this one allowed her to stay near Natsu and the others.

After chatting with Aquarius for another hour, Lucy finally decided to head over to Fairy Tail where her friends were waiting for her. Sure enough, when she strode inside the pub, she found Levy and Natsu hunched over, dejected from the conversation that was taking place around them.

"Why do you two look so upset?" Lucy asked once she approached them.

The two lit up like Christmas trees at the sight of her.

"Finally!" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and gesturing for her to sit down. "We've been waiting forever! It sucks not having classes together!"

"Weren't you the one telling me it wasn't a big deal?"

"Well I changed my mind! It sucks!"

Levy nodded with the boy. "I agree! I've been wanting to talk to you all day about your story! I finally finished it!"

"Already!?"

"Yeah! We've gotta talk about it!"

"Shouldn't you guys give her room to breathe?" Gray asked with a chuckle. Natsu and Levy were practically leeching onto the poor blonde. "Anyways, how was talking to Aquarius?"

Lucy smiled. "It was nice. She explained how she knew me and why she didn't tell me about it in the first place. Oh, she also told me that if I wanted to, I could probably teach at the university after graduation."

"Are you going to?" Erza asked.

"I don't know yet. There's a lot to think about. But since I'm still a freshman, I have plenty of time to mull it over."

Natsu stared at the blonde beside him. In truth, her teaching at the university sounded like a dream come true considering it meant she would stay in Magnolia. Then they could stay together forever, even in her next lives. Not wanting to come off too strong or pressure her in any way, the boy decided to keep his thoughts to himself for now.

He didn't know what the future entailed for the two of them. He knew that he wanted to be with Lucy for the rest of his infinite life, but that was a lot to ask of someone. He knew firsthand how long life could be, he didn't know if Lucy would feel tied down. After all, she lived in different countries, had different families, her life was forever changing while his stayed the same. Not to mention most of the time he was kept in the basement. What if she wanted to go on a date? What if she got tired of hanging out in his room? There was nothing he could do about it, and he wasn't sure the girl would want to put up with it. After all, who would?

Lucy stared at herself in the mirror, a skeptical frown on her face as she glanced over her outfit. Her black pleated skirt was incredibly short, sure to show off her bum with a gust of wind. The red shirt she wore was tight around her body, especially around her chest. Its neckline wasn’t particularly as low as some of the other shirts she owned, but it still showed off a good amount of cleavage. 

Pulling some thigh-high socks out of her dresser, she heaved them on before sliding her feet into some heeled boots. Standing back in front of the mirror, she tousled her hair a bit, just as Levy had instructed her to. 

Lucy wondered if this outfit would be good enough to seduce Natsu with. Her skirt wasn’t the shortest she owned, and she had plenty of other shirts to choose from that showed off her chest more, one pink shirt immediately coming to mind. But according to Levy, she should wear red. Apparently red put people in the mood. She didn’t know where Levy got that information from, but she trusted her enough to go with it. 

Glancing at the clock, Lucy quickly grabbed her purse. Natsu should be barging through her window at any moment, and she needed to make sure she had everything Levy instructed her to bring. She grabbed a lollipop from the Halloween candy she bought and with rosy cheeks, stuffed it into her purse. She hoped it wouldn’t come down to using that. That was just embarrassing. 

A gust of wind washed over Lucy’s back. She didn’t need to turn around to know that it was Natsu breaking in as always. Her heart started to beat faster, electricity jolting through her veins as she readied herself for tonight’s plan. Swallowing thickly, the girl turned to face him with a smile. 

“Hi, Natsu!” she greeted. Levy’s advice played in her head. 

“You should discreetly show off your body.”

Lucy nervously ran a hand through her hair before clasping her hands together at her thighs, causing her arms to squish her breasts together. 

“L-Lets go get dinner!” she exclaimed, hoping that her actions weren’t too transparent.

Natsu didn’t seem to notice the action- or her outfit- at all, which admittedly stung. “Okay! You’re buying!”

Lucy groaned before leading the way out of her apartment. 

They went to a local Italian bistro, which was close enough to Lucy’s apartment that they could walk- which was a good thing since Natsu’s motion sickness would’ve turned them both off. They were quickly led to a table and left with menus. After having a moment to look over the menus, they ordered their food. 

Once it arrived, Lucy looked down at her plate of seafood Alfredo and gulped. It was time for phase two of her plan. 

“Go out to dinner and moan while you eat. It’ll definitely get him in the mood!”

As Natsu practically inhaled his food like a wild beast, Lucy twirled some noodles on her fork before putting it in her mouth. Closing her eyes, she moaned, all the while trying to snuff out any embarrassment she felt. When she opened her eyes, she found Natsu staring at her.

“Is it working?” she wondered, excitement bundling in her stomach. She watched Natsu open his mouth to say something, then close it. 

“What is it?” Lucy asked, hoping she didn’t sound too eager. “Say it.”

“Well okay,” Natsu replied, rubbing the back of his head. Pointing to her food, he asked, “Can I have some?”

Lucy deadpanned. “What?”

“Can I have some?” Natsu repeated, his lips curling into a grin. “You made it sound like it was really good! I wanna try!”

Frustrated, Lucy pulled her plate closer to her with a huff. “Eat your own damn food!”

After dinner, Lucy was starting to feel deflated. Not only did her outfit not catch his attention, but her provocative movements and sultry moans didn’t work either. But she wasn’t done yet! She still had plenty of tricks up her sleeve thanks to Levy! And it was time to put her next plan to action. 

This plan luckily had two parts, so that if the first one failed, she had another one lined up. Reaching into her purse, Lucy pulled out the lollipop she packed earlier. Glancing towards Natsu to make sure he wasn’t watching, she pretended to drop it onto the ground. 

“Wear a short dress or skirt, then drop something. When you go to pick it up, he’ll stare at your butt. That should turn him on!”

The two stopped walking, Natsu arching a brow at the girl. 

“Oops,” Lucy said. “Let me just pick that up real quick!”

Making sure to arch her back as she bent down, she picked up the lollipop. She moved slowly, giving him more time to stare at her bum. Sure that she had it in the bag, she stood back up and turned to face him. 

Natsu stared at her, crossing his arms behind his head. 

Then he gave her a grin. 

“You’re clumsy, Luce!” he exclaimed with a laugh. 

Lucy huffed to herself, glancing at the lollipop. She didn’t want to have to resort to this part of the plan, but desperate times called for desperate measures. 

As the two continued their walk home, Lucy unwrapped the lollipop. 

“If none of that works, lick the lollipop and make it look sexy!”

Lucy slowly dragged her tongue over the lollipop before sucking on it. Releasing it with a pop, she began to twist her tongue over the candy. Seeing as how Natsu’s expression didn’t change, she added in her tactic from earlier. As embarrassing as it was, she moaned while licking the damn lollipop. 

And yet, nothing. 

Natsu’s face was a blank slate. 

When they arrived at Lucy’s apartment, she went straight into the bedroom with a huff. Angrily changing into some short pajama shirts and a loose, spaghetti strap tank top, she met Natsu back in the living room. He was setting up a movie on the couch. 

“What kinda movie do ya wanna watch? It’s your turn to choose,” Natsu said. 

“Horror!” Lucy replied immediately. 

“When you guys watch a movie, make sure it’s a scary one. That way when you’re scared, you can throw your arms around him and get closer to him! And make sure to sit close to him! And keep scooting your butt on him! There’s no way in hell he can resist that!”

Natsu eyed her. “Horror? You never choose horror. You always wanna watch those sappy movies.” 

“It’s called romance,” Lucy replied, sitting next to him on the couch. She made sure to sit so close to him that their thighs were flushed together and her bum was slightly on him. “Now, just choose one already.”

This was Lucy’s last plan, and she’d be damned if she failed. 

As the movie started playing, Lucy squirmed in her seat, pretending that she was trying to get comfortable while rubbing her bum on his thigh. She peeked at Natsu in the corner of her eye to see if it was working, but he was engrossed in the movie. 

When a scary part of the movie popped up, Lucy squealed and latched onto Natsu, squeezing his arm between her breasts. 

And still, nothing. 

That was it. She was all out of tricks. 

Huffing, Lucy pulled her arms off of him. She couldn’t believe that after all that, she couldn’t even get him to look at her. Was she not appealing at all? Was the sex not good enough last time to make him interested? Had he changed his mind since they last talked about it?

With a sigh, Lucy went to move away from him when his arm wrapped around her waist, warm hand gripping her side. She stilled, heat traveling through her body from the simple touch. 

“Hey, Lucy,” Natsu started, his eyes still locked to the TV, “I don’t know if you still wanna do this whole friends with benefits thing, but I would be down to help you do some research right now.”

Lucy blushed, her stomach coiling with excitement. “O-Oh?”

“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to all day, but I didn’t know if you still wanted to or not.”

“I do!” She nearly face-palmed with how desperate she sounded.

Natsu finally turned to face her. It was then that Lucy saw the lust that glinted in his dark orbs. 

Lucy’s heart leapt up into her throat as Natsu scooted closer to her, his face just centimeters away from hers. She watched as his eyes began to droop closed. He cupped the back of her head, slowly bringing her close. 

A knot grew in her stomach as Natsu’s lips grazed hers. Her body felt like it was being sent over the edge, every sense heightened. 

As Natsu deepened the kiss, Lucy wasted no time in repositioning herself on his lap. Thanks to the thin, silk shorts she was wearing, it wasn’t hard to feel the bulge beneath her. Her body moved on its own, hips grinding to create glorious friction. He gripped her hips while tugging on her lower lip with his teeth. A soft growl resonated in his throat. 

“Let’s take this to your bed,” he whispered. 

Lucy ignored him, sinking her lips over his neck as he carried her towards the bedroom. He plopped her on the bed before tearing his clothes off. She went to take off her tank top when his hand grabbed hers. 

“I wanna do it,” he said with an eager grin. 

Lucy nodded. “Alright just hurry.”

Natsu chuckled. “Someone’s a little impatient, huh?”

“Natsu, if you don’t put your hands on me in the next second, I’m going to-!”

Before she could even finish her threat, Natsu tore her tank top off in a flash. 

“There, happy now?” he asked with a smirk.

Lucy snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “Very. Now let’s do this thing already.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice!”

He caged her beneath him, washing his lips over her neck. His hand slid over her breast, kneading the flesh. He teased her nipple, having learned last time that the nubs were sensitive. 

Lucy arched her back into his touch. She could feel the knot in her stomach grow as each second passed. 

He lowered himself onto her, his hot shaft sliding between her folds. As he pushed himself inside, she wrapped her legs around her torso and brought him in deeper. 

Natsu let out a shaky breath. He clenched tightly onto the bed sheets, trying to rein in his body's urges. He moved slowly at first to warm up, moving around in circles. As he tried to pull out, her walls clung tightly to his shaft, tugging on the sensitive skin. 

Lucy’s breath picked up as he started to go pound into her. Gripping his biceps, she tried to keep herself in place as he thrusted harder and harder. Her stomach coiled, the pleasure building up. She could feel herself nearing climax. 

“N-Natsu,” she breathed out, weakly tapping his arm. 

He pulled his head back to look at her but kept pushing inside of her. “What? Does it not feel good?”

“It’s not that, it f-feels amazing.” A moan slipped past her lips as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. “I-It’s just that I want to try something new.”

Natsu slowed his movements, moving in slow circles. Lucy gnawed on her lower lip. She didn’t know that moving slowly was just as good as moving fast. 

“I-I want to be on top,” she said, her voice breathy. 

Natsu finally stopped, which Lucy was part thankful and part disappointed for. 

“Okay,” he replied, getting off of her. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he eagerly laid on the bed, watching Lucy position herself on top of him. 

Lucy inhaled sharply as his shaft sank deep inside of her as she lowered herself over him. Once it was as deep as she could get it, she slowly rocked herself back and forth. 

Natsu groaned, his hands gripping her thighs. It was hard to keep his eyes open while the pleasure began to skyrocket, but he just had to get a good look at Lucy. Her hair was messy, her eyes squeezed shut. Her head hung back as she grinded against him, her mouth hanging open. He moved his eyes down to her breasts. They bounced with each rock against him. 

One thing he knew for sure, he loved watching Lucy ride him. 

Meanwhile, Lucy was in pure ecstasy. This new position allowed his cock to reach deeper than before. Moving her body in a circular motion, she could feel herself edging closer to climax. Wanting to experiment on herself a bit, she brought her hands up to her breasts and began to message herself. 

Natsu’s gut coiled as he watched Lucy fondle herself. Unable to help himself, he moved his hands onto her hips and moved her roughly over him. A breathy moan escaped Lucy’s lips and before she knew it, she was shaking with pleasure, his name slipping out of her mouth. Seeing her finish while riding him was enough for Natsu to break. He moaned, clenching onto her silky hips while pleasure shot out of him. When they could no longer move, Lucy collapsed beside him in pants. 

“Oh wow,” she breathed out. “That was even better than last time.”

Natsu nodded, still trying to catch his breath. As he laid there, he wondered how he got so lucky to be able to be the only person to see Lucy this way. To see her face flushed with heat, sweat glistening on her body. To hear her scream his name. He must’ve done something right in his past life to be able to have earned this privilege.

“Alright, I’m going to go take a shower now,” Lucy said, bringing him out of his thoughts and walking towards the bathroom. 

“Oh, I’ll join you.” 

The girl stopped in her tracks, whirling around to face him. “Umm, what?”

Natsu shrugged, giving her a look as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “What?”

Lucy blushed madly. “Y-You can’t shower with me, idiot!”

“Luce, hate to break it to ya, but what we just did together is a hell of a lot more intimate than taking a shower.”

“No it isn’t!”

Natsu rolled his eyes. “Fine, then I’ll take one after you. I don’t wanna walk home like this.” 

Lucy nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll make it quick.”

He plopped on the bed. “Uh-huh, sure you will.” He frowned when he heard the door click behind her. If that wasn’t enough to remind him that she didn’t feel the same as him, he didn’t know what was. 

After Lucy’s shower- which was quite long despite her promise of keeping it quick- he headed in right after her. The water pelted his back as he thought long and hard about the situation he was in. On the one hand, it was great to be able to have sex with Lucy. Glorious. On the other, it only made his feelings for her stronger. He wasn’t sure how he would hold up when she eventually decided to end things. Would he truly be able to bounce back? Would he go back to playing the role of best friend? 

He was always there to listen to her vent after her failed dates. He was there for her whenever she had crushes on other boys. He listened and waited, hoping that one day she would look at him in such light. Now was his only chance to change her perception of him. He didn’t want to just be her friend anymore. He wanted to be the one to take her on dates. He wanted to be the one that she gushed about to her friends. He wanted all of her. 

After finishing his shower, Natsu turned off the faucet and quickly dried off. Having spent many nights at Lucy’s apartment, the boy already had spare clothes to change into. Heading back to the bedroom, he found Lucy laying in bed, scrolling on her phone. He jumped into bed beside her. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, giving him a pointed stare. 

Natsu gave her a cheeky grin. “Eh, walking home now would be a pain in the ass. C’mon, let me stay here.”

Lucy rolled her eyes but didn’t protest, which was usually how that conversation went. Once Natsu decided he was sleeping over, there was no changing his mind. Besides, she liked the company. 

“Whatcha watching?” Natsu asked, scooting closer to the phone. 

Lucy lifted her head and rested it on his arm. She knew it might’ve been perceived as intimate by others, but this was just how she and Natsu were. 

“Just a new dance trend going around.”

He laughed. “You should do that!”

“Why? So you can make fun of me?”

“Yep!”

She nudged him before playing the next video. Over time, her eyes grew heavy. She placed her phone on the nightstand and turned towards him, her head still resting on his arm. 

“I’m going to bed now,” Lucy said with a yawn. 

Natsu brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. “Alright. Night, Lucy.”

“Goodnight, Natsu.”

Lucy heaved a sigh as she unlocked her front door. After a day of grilling exams, the girl was glad to have some down time. Swinging open the door, a vein immediately ticked in her forehead as she found a familiar head of pink at the couch.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, dropping her bag to the floor and plopping beside the boy on the couch. This wasn't the first time he had broken into her apartment, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Lucy had met Natsu and the rest of their group in high school. She was the new girl after finally getting her father's permission to go to a public school. It was rough at first. Most people didn't take the time out of their day to greet her, and the ones who did were all perverted boys whose eyes were locked to her chest.

All except for Natsu.

When he saw her sitting alone for lunch, he sat right beside her with a cheery grin and started talking to her as if he'd known her his whole life. She was taken aback at first, but it was impossible not to melt right into the conversation. Soon enough, the rest of the gang sat with them and they all had been close friends ever since.

Natsu was not only her first friend, he was her best friend.

"Yo, Luce!" the boy greeted with a toothy grin. "Took ya long enough."

"You know I have to walk home."

Natsu shrugged. "You usually walk faster."

Lucy averted her gaze, her cheeks burning red. She did take longer to walk home that day because she was walking home with a classmate, Hibiki. They talked every day in class, he was good looking, and he was more than experienced. She figured he would be the perfect partner in her research.

So, she asked him to walk with her, which he so enthusiastically accepted. The more time they spent together walking home, the more Lucy realized that he wasn't the right one. She wasn't sure what she based that decision off of, but she felt it in her gut.

"Maybe I should just do it with a stranger," she thought. At least that way she wouldn't have to deal with the embarrassment of seeing the guy again.

"Lucy? Hello? You there?" Natsu asked, waving a hand in front of her face, causing her to jump.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"You okay, Lucy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Natsu studied her, giving her all his attention. His onyx eyes bore into hers. She tried to act nonchalant, but she knew that within the few short seconds of him analyzing her, he figured out that something was on her mind. He was always able to read her like an open book.

"No you aren't. What's wrong?" Natsu asked, his face serious. He was usually carefree, but there was another side of him he reserved specifically for her. A side that, if she was being honest with herself, made her feel special.

Lucy sighed. She was not about to talk about her romantic life with Natsu. Doing that felt… strange. "I just had a bad day," she said, leaving out the key details. Standing up so she could avoid his piercing gaze, she went to the cupboard and grabbed two cups and a bottle of vodka. She wasn't much of a drinker, but thanks to Cana, her apartment always had at least one emergency bottle of booze.

Natsu stood from the couch, his brows shooting up towards his hairline. "That bad?"

"Alright, more like a couple of bad days."

"I'll get the orange juice."

After grabbing everything they needed, they returned to the couch. Natsu took to making the drinks. He filled one cup with solely vodka. The other, he put just a sliver of booze and filled the rest with orange juice. Not only did Lucy not like the taste of alcohol, but she was also a lightweight. He wouldn't be surprised if that tiny sliver alone got her tipsy.

Lucy thanked Natsu for the drink before downing it in one go. She was glad he knew her go-to drink, just as he knew her go-to ice cream and pizza and… Well, he knew everything there was to know about her.

As Natsu poured her another drink, Lucy peeked at him in the corner of her eye. His pink bangs were flat against his head. His strange coat- the one she always teased him for- was left open as always, revealing a perfectly chiseled torso.

Either the small sips of alcohol were already having their way with her, or she had just gone insane because there was no way in hell she was looking at Natsu that way. He was her best friend! That was all, despite what everyone else thought. Things were perfect the way they were, she wasn't going to go jeopardizing that over some silly research.

Or at least that's what she thought when she was only two shots in. Being given a few more drinks, the line between them began to blur.

Gnawing on her lower lip, Lucy watched him pour another drink. She'd never noticed it before, but even his hand was sexy. How could a hand be sexy? Lucy had no clue, but it was.

"So, wanna tell me why you're upset now?" Natsu asked, handing her the drink.

Lucy's fingertips burned as they brushed against Natsu's. She shook her head frantically. There was no way in hell she was going to tell him now that the damn alcohol was making her crazy.

"C'mon, Luce!" Natsu whined. "We tell each other everything!"

"Well this one's a bit more personal this time. It's girl stuff."

"Girl stuff? Your period doesn't start for another week."

Lucy slapped him upside the head. "Stop remembering when my period starts, pervert!"

"Oi! That doesn't make me a pervert!" Natsu replied. Rubbing his head with a pout, he continued, "If it's not that, then what is it?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not!?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

"Because it's embarrassing and you wouldn't understand!"

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "Wouldn't understand? Just tell me what it is, Luce. I promise I won't make any jokes."

Lucy's face was set ablaze from the look he was giving her, and she knew it wasn't just from the alcohol.

"O-Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "But you have to promise not to laugh or judge me!"

"'Course I won't do that, weirdo."

Lucy tried maintaining eye contact, but that only lasted a few seconds as she felt too vulnerable and embarrassed. Playing with the hem of her shirt, she tried to gather the courage to speak. Grabbing her shot glass, she poured herself some liquid courage and downed it all, this time without any orange juice.

"I'm trying to have sex," she said, her gaze pointed at the table. Even though she couldn't see Natsu's face, she could just feel the stunned expression he was giving her. "Erza and the others found a mature story I wrote and criticized the way that I wrote a sex scene because it was too amateurish. So I want to have sex so I can finally have some experience. That's why I was late today. I was trying to see if someone in my class would be a good fit. He wasn't. Now I think I'm going to try with some stranger to just get it over with. And before you start judging me, I know what you're going to say. That I should wait or whatever. But I don't want to wait anymore. I want to do it. F-For my writing, of course."

Moments passed by, neither of them saying a word. Natsu's jaw hung on its hinges, his mind still processing what she said.

After a few more minutes of silence he managed to choke out a simple, "Oh."

"I knew you wouldn't understand!"

"Sorry, I don't," Natsu said with a shrug. "I don't see why you would go to a stranger for it."

Lucy glanced at him. "You're not weirded out by the other parts?"

"I've known you since high school. I've gotten used to how weird you are, Lucy. Which is why I also know that you shouldn't go to some stranger for that stuff. You've always talked about how important that stuff is to you."

Lucy swallowed thickly as she stared up at him. He was right. He did know her. Better than most. He knew her favorite drink, her favorite ice cream, he knew everything there was to know about her.

"W-What about you?"

Natsu's eyes turned the size of golf-balls as he stared at her. She refused to meet his gaze as she squirmed in her seat.

"W-Wait, what?" he asked. He must not have heard her right. There was no way in hell she was asking him to take her virginity. But alas…

"What about you?" Lucy repeated, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "You said that I shouldn't do it with some stranger because it's too important to me. And you're right. You aren't just some stranger. You are my best friend. You know me better than anyone. I want it to be you."

"All this for your writing?"

Lucy nodded, steeling her resolve. Though in truth, it was mainly for herself. She was tired of being inexperienced. Tired of not understanding what the other girls talked about on girls' night. She just wanted to get it over with already. The fact that it would help her with her writing was just an added bonus.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Natsu didn't know what to say. Of course he wanted to. Unbeknownst to his smart-but-dense best friend, he'd wanted to for a long time. He'd even dreamt of it. But he wasn't sure he could do it in these circumstances.

"I-I think you've had too much to drink," he said, moving the vodka away from her.

Lucy shook her head. "I'm sober enough to know what I'm saying."

"L-Lucy, I don't wanna mess anything up between us. You're my best friend too."

Lucy shook her head again. She just couldn't accept that answer. It was either he wanted to or he didn't. And if he didn't, she would accept his answer without protest.

Something burned within Lucy. Never before had she felt so ready to give herself to another person. She wanted it bad.

"Can I try something?" she whispered, leaning closer to him.

Natsu swallowed thickly. Lucy's face was just inches from his. She peeked up at him with her beautiful brown orbs, her golden hair was slightly messy from the long day, and her lips were pink and plump.

"O-Okay," he answered, the word fumbling out of his mouth before he could think it over.

Lucy nodded gratefully before leaning towards him. Their breaths fanned each other's faces, their hearts pounding erratically in their chests. Their lips brushed against each other before they both delved deep into their desires and gave themselves to each other. Their lips washed against each other like waves, quickly finding a perfect rhythm.

Natsu's lips were hot against hers. Having known him for a while, she knew that he had never kissed anyone before- which was surprising seeing as how naturally it came to him. One of his hands rested on her cheek while the other cupped the back of her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

Pulling away only for air, Lucy pressed her forehead against Natsu's. Both of them were breathless, staring into each other's hooded eyes. Lust pooled in both of their eyes, making it clear how badly they both wanted it.

"You promise it won't ruin anything between us?" Natsu whispered. "Because I can't lose you. You're my best friend."

Lucy nodded. "I would never let it ruin our friendship."

"And you're sure you aren't just drunk?"

"Positive."

Natsu nodded. His cheeks matched his hair, and Lucy wasn't sure if it was from the situation or the alcohol.

"Okay," he said, the husky tenure of his voice bringing a shiver to Lucy's body. "I'm in."

Part of Lucy wanted to thank him, but with her fervent haste, there just wasn't any time for that. Crashing her lips against his, Lucy melted into him and the kiss. She trailed her fingers up to his biceps, squeezing the tight muscles. A shiver washed over her as Natsu's hands began their own exploration as well, starting from her shoulders and slowly moving to her hips.

Wanting to be even closer, Lucy positioned herself on his lap. Feeling something hard beneath her, she instinctively rolled her hips against it.

Natsu's jaw clenched as pleasure shot through him from the single movement. Taking a deep breath, he tightened his hold on Lucy's hips.

Lucy slowly grazed her fingertips over Natsu's abs, mentally thanking the heavens for his strange habit of not wearing a shirt under his coat. His abs were so perfectly chiseled, she could feel the indentations of each one. As her fingers moved lower and lower, a ball of anticipation formed in the pit of her stomach. The area between her thighs ached as her fingers brushed against the hem of his joggers.

Natsu pulled away from Lucy's lips only to sink his own over her neck. A soft mewl escaped the girl's lips, causing a wave of excitement to wash over him. He didn't really know what he was doing. He was only doing what he'd heard about or seen in the movies. Luckily, it seemed he was doing it right judging by the quiet noises she made and the way she arched her body against his.

Lucy's eyes rolled in the back of her head as Natsu's lips worked wonders over her neck. Her hands trembled with pleasure as she slid them underneath his coat before taking it off of him. Through half-lidded eyes, she gazed at his shirtless form, her tongue sliding over her lips.

"Like what you see?" Natsu joked.

Lucy rolled her eyes. She should've known that even in a moment as intimate as this one, he would still tease her. She wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I see you shirtless nearly every day," she replied, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"Yeah, but you've never looked at me like that."

He was right. She never looked at him that way before, only seeing him as her best friend. Now, she wished she could go back in time and really appreciate the view.

"There's a lot of things I haven't done before. That's the point of this, isn't it?" Lucy asked, her lips curling into a grin.

Her eyes widened as she felt something twitch below her.

"M-My bad," Natsu said, giving her a sheepish grin. He couldn't help it. The way she looked at him and confidently spoke all the while sitting on his lap made it harder to rein in his body's urges.

"You don't have to apologize."

Not wanting to lose any momentum, Lucy gripped the hem of her shirt. Her nerves were starting to return, embarrassed about stripping in front of Natsu. But she knew what she wanted and she wasn't going to let her embarrassment stop her from getting it.

Throwing caution to the wind, she tore her shirt off, leaving her clad in a pink, lacy bra.

Natsu swallowed thickly. He'd seen Lucy in a bra before. Hell, he'd even seen her naked before thanks to his lack of boundaries. But never before had he seen Lucy's breasts practically spilling out of her bra right in front of his face.

Acting on his desire, he reached out and grabbed one of her breasts. As Lucy squirmed in his lap and grinded over him, he found the urge to touch her irresistible. Sliding his hand beneath her bra, he grazed his fingertips against her hardened nipple. A soft moan slipped past Lucy's lips as she arched against him.

Natsu's hands snaked around Lucy so that he could unhook her bra. It took him a few seconds to get it, but when he did, he wasted no time in tearing it off. Gazing at Lucy's bare breasts, he swallowed thickly. He always knew they were big, but seeing them this close up was a game changer.

Lucy studied Natsu's features, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she started to worry. Did she not look good? Gnawing on her lower lip, she crossed her arms over her chest, shielding herself from him.

In the blink of an eye, her arms were pinned at her sides.

"N-Natsu?" she asked.

"Don't hide yourself," he replied, his gaze serious. She could see the hunger that swirled in his onyx orbs. Hunger for her.

"Okay."

"You're hot as fuck, and I'm gonna try to prove that to you."

Without giving her time to reply, Natsu closed his lips around one of Lucy's nipples, eliciting a loud moan from the girl as she leaned into it. His mouth was hot against her flesh, sucking and licking the sensitive nub.

Lucy's hands fisted his hair, tugging on it. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to quiet the sounds that were coming out of her. But with every lick brought another moan that she couldn't control. She rolled her hips against him, trying to put out the fire between her legs but it wasn't enough. The knot in the pit of her stomach grew with each second.

"N-Natsu," she breathed out.

He pulled away to meet her gaze. She was gnawing on her lower lip as she stared back at him, lust shining in her brown orbs. He nodded, not needing to hear what she wanted. He already knew, and he wanted it just as badly.

Grabbing her below her thighs, Natsu carried her into the bedroom, placing her on the bed. Shimmying out of his pants, he watched as Lucy did the same, his cock throbbing in excitement. His gaze immediately fell on her pink underwear, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.

"You know, we're gonna need to take those off to continue," Natsu said, his voice husky and low.

Lucy squirmed under his gaze. "I know. I'm just a little embarrassed. You know, it might help if you take yours off too..."

Natsu didn't need to think twice, quickly tearing off his boxers. His cock sprang free, capturing the girl's attention. He was never one to be embarrassed.

Lucy stared at his cock, eyeing its length. Admittedly, she didn't know what was considered big, but she had a strong feeling he was. She'd seen glimpses of it before, but she never got the chance to stare at it like this.

"Your turn," Natsu reminded her.

Lucy swallowed thickly, nodding before she hooked her thumbs on the hem of her underwear before pulling them off. Her face burned bright red under his attentive gaze. She could see his eyes glazing over every inch of her body.

"W-Wow, Luce," Natsu breathed out. She could tell by the twitch of his cock that her body got him aroused.

"W-Well? Are we going to do this thing?" Lucy asked, trying to mask her nerves with feigned confidence. Being naked in front of Natsu was a little embarrassing, but it didn't take away her excitement for what was to come.

"You don't wanna back out now?" Natsu asked. He wanted Lucy to be one hundred percent sure before they continued.

She shook her head. "Not at all. I'm ready."

With that, they were done talking. Natsu slid his hand into hers, guiding her towards the bed. Gently laying her down, he positioned himself between her legs. His eyes glazed over Lucy, admiring the way her golden hair was splayed below her, the flush of her cheeks, and the warmth of her eyes. He was always able to read her through her chocolate brown eyes. They were mixed with excitement and nervousness, the same way he was feeling.

He leaned forward and melted his lips with hers, hoping to drive away her nerves. When he felt her relax against him, he slowly lowered his hips, guiding himself to her. His shaft slid against her folds, eliciting a sharp breath from Lucy.

"Does it hurt?" Natsu asked, about to withdraw.

"Not at all. I just wasn't expecting it to be so warm. It feels good," Lucy answered. "I'm ready, Natsu."

Nodding, the boy continued. Making sure to keep her stimulated, he ran kisses along her collarbone while slowly pushing forward. As he grazed her entrance, he lowered his lips onto her breasts again, working his tongue over the hardened nubs. He made sure to go slowly, knowing that he could hurt her if he went to fast.

Lucy's eyes squeezed shut as she could feel Natsu slowly sinking into her. She'd heard war stories of girls' first times and how much it hurt, but in her case, it wasn't so bad. As he pushed deeper, there was a slight pinch of pain, but it was over before she knew it. Releasing a shaky breath, she allowed herself to relax as the fun part began.

Natsu's hands tightened on Lucy's shoulders. Her body was hot, and he understood what Lucy had meant earlier about the heat feeling good. Slowly pulling out, he gnawed on his lower lip to keep from moaning as she tightened around him, clinging and tugging onto his shaft. As he began to push forward again, Lucy's hands splayed onto his back, pulling him closer to her.

His cock throbbed with each steady thrust, and he could tell that with each passing second, Lucy was relaxing more and more. Wanting to make her first time memorable, he began to experiment to see what pleased her.

He started to go faster, all the while trying to keep a lid on his own body's urges. As he thrusted in and out of her, he pulled his head back to look at Lucy. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her mouth parted open. He could hear her breathing start to pick up. He watched as her breasts bounced with each thrust. His cock throbbed with arousal at the sight.

Wanting to change things up, he began to move in circles inside of her. His ears perked as Lucy let out a soft moan. Hands tightening around her shoulders, he slid deeper inside of her, groaning at how tight she was around him.

Lucy raked her fingers along Natsu's back, her eyes rolling back in her head. With each roll of his hips, he went deeper and deeper inside of her. Every inch of her was being explored as he moved in circles, stretching her walls. Wanting more, she wrapped her legs around his torso and brought him deeper inside of her. A breathy moan slipped past her lips before she clamped her teeth over them to try to keep quiet.

But with each thrust, pleasure pulsed within her, making it impossible to refrain from moaning. The pleasure began to build up, her toes beginning to curl. Fisting the bedsheets, she arched her body against Natsu, pushing her breast harder against his mouth. As his tongue ran over her nipple and his cock pounded into her, a wave of pleasure washed over her, her body trembling. His name slipped past her lips, crying it out as he continued to explore her body even after her orgasm. Her body felt like electricity was coursing through her veins. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

Natsu gnawed on his lower lip, watching as Lucy quivered beneath him. Sweat dotted her face and her mouth was still open from screaming his name. He replayed that moment over and over again in his head, savoring the moment. Picking up the pace, he felt all his nerves from before disappear. He went harder and harder, groaning each time. And finally, the dam broke.

His knees locked as pleasure shot through his body. His breaths were ragged, his hair was plastered to his face, and his body shook as much as Lucy's. He rode out his orgasm, chasing the feeling until he no longer could.

Pulling out, he collapsed onto the bed beside Lucy. The two of them were panting messes, their legs tangled under the sheets.

"Well? How was your research?" Natsu asked once he regained control of his breathing.

Lucy, having forgotten the reasoning behind their sexual endeavours, replied, "Oh, right. It was amazing, actually. I kinda understand some of what the other girls were talking about now."

"Really? Does that mean it was good?"

"Better than good," Lucy answered, turning her head to give him a smile. "What about you? I hope you benefited from this too."

Natsu chuckled. "Benefited? Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Lucy blushed. "G-Good."

The two laid there in silence. The alcohol had long since worn off, and now that they weren't doing any research, Lucy struggled coming up with things to say- which never happened when she was around Natsu.

"S-So, uhh…" she started, begging her mind to come up with something.

Natsu seemed to be having the same issue as he replied, "So…"

Minutes passed by, neither of them saying a word.

"W-Well, I should go shower now," Lucy said. She felt bad about kicking him out, but now that the lust in the air was replaced with tension thick enough to cut with a knife, she felt she needed to escape the situation.

"Right, I should too," Natsu replied. As he stood up from the bed, he noticed Lucy wrapping herself with the blanket in the corner of his eye, hiding his body from her. He had to admit, it stung a little after what they had just done. Quickly throwing on his clothes, he plastered a smile to his face and waved to Lucy. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow," Lucy replied, watching Natsu leave. Once he was gone, she sighed in relief. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She was the one who asked him to do it, not to mention it felt amazing, so why did she feel so strange about it now?

After getting ready, the two headed for Fairy Tail. Fairy tail was a local pub run by the Strauss siblings. Lucy was particularly close to Mira, the oldest sibling and boss of the place. It was a popular place among all in Magnolia, filled with rowdy people of all ages.

As they approached the grand doors of Fairy Tail, Lucy took a deep breath before following Levy inside. She kept her eyes glued on the floor, her nerves getting the best of her. Reaching the table, she gulped, sweat dripping down the back of her neck.

"Lucy! Where have you been? It's been forever!" she heard Gray exclaim.

"Sorry guys, I've just been caught up with something," Lucy replied, sliding into the booth next to Levy. She kept her eyes glued to the table. She could feel someone's gaze boring into her, and she didn't have to lift her head to know who it was.

"Caught up? With what?" Erza asked.

"Oh you know, the usual. Studying, writing, the usual."

"Oh are you writing a new story? We usually don't see you for a week whenever you start a new one."

"Yep! That's what I was doing!"

"What's this one about?" Jellal asked.

"Uhh… That's a secret." Before anyone could question her any further, Lucy asked, "So what about you guys? Anything new happen while I was gone?"

Gajeel nodded his head toward Natsu. "That's what we've been trying to figure out for the last half hour now. It's obvious something's up with him, but he won't tell us anything. Even Erza couldn't convince him to tell her anything."

Lucy's eyes involuntarily peeked up towards Natsu, whose gaze was now glued to the table, obviously not a fan of where the conversation headed thanks to Gajeel. His cheeks were dusted pink, his lips tugged into a frown. As Lucy stared at him, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his head.

"Now that you're here, you can drag it out of him," Gray said, catching her attention.

She moved her gaze onto the raven-haired boy. "W-What?"

"Well if Erza couldn't get him to 'fess up, then you're our only hope."

Lucy faltered. It was true. Whenever something was on Natsu's mind, she was the group's representative sent to figure out what it was and to cheer him up because she was usually the only one he confided in. It wasn't that he didn't trust the others, it was just that he didn't like opening up about such things and only preferred to do it with her. In truth, it made her feel special.

"Well, uhh, maybe we should stop questioning him about it. I'm sure he'll open up when he's ready," Lucy said. After all, she had a pretty good idea as to what was on his mind, and she did not want the group to know about it. Not now and maybe not ever.

The group shared a glance.

"Uhh, okay," Gray replied, having not expected that answer.

Finally, the group broke up into separate conversations, giving Lucy a moment of relief. It was hard to keep such a big secret from them, especially the girls. She promised them long ago that she would tell them everything once she lost her virginity, but now that it was with Natsu, she had to keep her lips sealed.

Peeking at Natsu in the corner of her eye, she found that he was still staring at the table, not even paying attention to the conversations around him. The air around them was so thick, it felt like she was going to suffocate.

Standing up from the table, Lucy wordlessly headed towards the bar in desperate need of a breath of fresh air- air that wasn't around Natsu. As always, Mira was manning the bar with her signature cheery smile.

"Hi, Lucy," she greeted, grabbing a large cup. "Want your usual?"

"Yes please," the blonde replied with a grateful smile.

The two idly chatted while Mira made her a strawberry milkshake, spraying a mountain's worth of whipped cream on top.

Lucy thanked the other girl for the milkshake, reaching into her pocket to grab her wallet when Mira stopped her.

"This one's on the house," she stated with a wink.

Lucy tilted her head to the side. "Really? Why? Is there some sort of promotional deal going on?"

"Nope. I could tell something was troubling you the moment you stepped in, so I thought I would try to cheer you up a bit."

"Oh, Mira, I'm fine! Here, let me pay!"

"Nope! I already said it's on the house, now shoo!"

Lucy smiled at the older girl. "Thank you, Mira."

"You're welcome, Lucy. I hope whatever it is gets resolved soon."

With a wave, Lucy headed back to the table, where everyone was still wrapped up in their conversations. That is, until they saw her drink.

"Oh great, something's bugging you too?" Gajeel asked, his gaze directed at her.

"What do you mean?" Lucy replied.

"You only get extra whipped cream whenever you're upset or something," Gray elaborated.

Lucy's mouth parted. They all noticed that small detail about her? They weren't just her closest friends for nothing.

"Hurry up and tell us who did it," Gajeel said. Lucy shivered at the threatening glint in his crimson eyes, knowing that if she were to tell him someone had wronged her, he would personally handle it in a way that left someone in a hospital. That was just how their group worked. They would pay someone back tenfold if they were to hurt one of them.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," the girl insisted. "I just felt like having more whipped cream today!"

"Oh bullshit! First Salamander and now you? What's up with all the secrets!?"

"Lucy, you know you can tell us anything," Erza added.

"I know, but-"

"No but's. If something is on your mind, you should let it out and we'll listen. That's what friends are for."

Lucy ran a hand through her hair. She felt the urge to look over to Natsu, but she resisted. She knew that her friends would definitely pick up on the small action if she did.

She thought about telling them. She did promise the girls to tell them when she lost her virginity. Not only that, but maybe this would give her a chance to let Natsu know how she felt about the whole thing- though in truth, she still wasn't totally sure how she felt yet. All she had to do was alter a few details because she still wasn't comfortable with them knowing about her and Natsu.

"Okay, fine," Lucy said with a sigh. "You got me." She could feel Natsu's gaze whip towards her.

"Spit it out already!" Gajeel barked.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" She narrowed her eyes at them. "But you have to promise to keep your voices down when I tell you!"

"We promise!" Levy replied for all of them.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy thought back to that fateful night. She pictured Natsu's hands roaming her body, his hot lips grazing her flesh.

"I, uhh…" Glancing around the room to make sure nobody was listening, she lowered her voice to a whisper and continued, "I lost my virginity."

In an instant, everyone's eyes grew to the size of golf balls and their jaws dropped.

Erza's face in particular matched her hair as she sputtered, "Y-You had sex?"

Lucy buried her face in her hands and nodded. "Yeah, I did."

Gray furrowed his brows as he glanced towards Natsu. His face was scrunched up and his lips were pulled into a straight line.

"Lucy must've already told him," Gray thought, feeling sorry for him. He'd long since known about Natsu's feelings for Lucy. Hell, he probably knew about them before Natsu did. "He must've been devastated when Lucy told him, and that's why he's like this."

"Wait, who the hell did you have sex with?" Gajeel asked, clearly on the same page as Gray.

Lucy made sure to keep her gaze straight as she lied, "It was just some guy."

"Just some guy!?" Levy asked. "What do you mean just some guy!?"

"Just some guy I met."

"Where?"

"Uhh, on one of those apps."

"Lucy! Is that really how you wanted it to happen?" Erza asked.

Lucy furrowed her brows. "People do it all the time, why can't I?"

"Because you always talked about how you wanted it to happen! You said you were waiting to find the love of your life first!"

"Well, I got tired of waiting, okay? And I didn't want my inexperience to affect my writing anymore."

Juvia frowned. "Oh, Lucy, did you do it because of what we said about your story?"

Lucy tore her eyes away. "Maybe. Look, it doesn't matter why I did it. The point is, I did. And that's why I've been a little M.I.A."

"Why? Was it bad?" Levy asked. "Was he not attentive or gentle?"

"No, no! It's not that at all!" Lucy answered, shaking her head. It was embarrassing to talk about it, especially with the boys, but it was also relieving to get off her chest. And it was also nice to be able to tell Natsu what she felt without having to tell him directly. "The sex was great. Amazing."

Levy frowned as she asked, "Then what's bothering you? Do you regret doing it with him?"

Lucy heard a sharp intake of breath and couldn't help but glance towards Natsu. Her eyes met his, and she could tell he was wondering the same question.

Tearing her eyes away, Lucy shook her head.

"I don't regret it at all," she answered, her voice steady and her gaze firm. "It was a little embarrassing at first, but I don't regret a single thing that happened that night. In fact…"

She replayed the night over in her head, her cheeks set ablaze. As she was voicing her thoughts aloud, she finally understood what it was she was feeling. She felt nervous- nervous that Natsu didn't feel the same way about that night.

Because she wanted to do it again.

She wanted to feel his fingers against her skin, his lips on hers. She wanted all of him again and again. Thoughts about their night kept invading her mind and driving her body crazy, and she had a feeling they would continue to do so until she acted on her urges again.

"In fact," Lucy repeated, dragging her finger around the rim of her glass, "if he wanted, I would be more than willing to do it again."

Natsu's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. His whole body felt like it was on fire, some of it shooting down to his pants. Burying his face in his scarf, he hid the grin that was taking over his face, not wanting the group to see it in fear that they would unravel Lucy's lies.

"So, yeah. That's about it," Lucy said with a shrug. Taking a sip of her milkshake, she hoped the cold drink would help cool off her body.

Juvia squealed, clasping her hands together. "Lucy, you're glowing!"

The blonde cocked her head to the side. "Glowing?"

"Yeah! Lucy is in love!"

The girl choked on her milkshake, spitting it out onto the table. "L-Love!?"

"Yes! Juvia has an eye for these things! It was love at first sight for Lucy, just like it was for Juvia!"

"I-I wouldn't go that far…" Lucy replied, tugging on the hem of her sweater. She hoped Juvia didn't give Natsu the wrong idea. She wasn't in love with Natsu. He was her best friend! She just wouldn't mind having a few benefits on the side if he was willing.

Meanwhile, Natsu couldn't deny the soft blow to his heart upon hearing Lucy's subtle denial. Still, he couldn't help but feel happy with what she said earlier.

"Anyways, it's been fun catching up with you guys, but as you know, midterms are coming up and I've got some more studying to do," Lucy said as she rose up from her seat.

"Wait! Before you go, can we see a picture of this guy!?" Levy asked.

"Nope!"

"Can we at least know his name!?"

Lucy chuckled, shaking her head. "Sorry, Levy-chan! That information is classified. Bye now!"

Before the group could bombard her with more questions, Lucy bolted for the door.

Three hours passed when Lucy felt a gust of wind wash over her back as she sat at her desk. She didn't need to turn around to know that her window had been opened, and that the soft sounds coming from the window were from none other than the boy who invaded her thoughts for the past week.

Warmth traveled through her body, the space between her thighs tingling with excitement as she heard Natsu stop just behind her. His abnormal body heat washed over her, sending a shiver down her spine as she thought of him closing the space between them.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to break into my apartment?" Lucy teased, thanking the heavens she didn't stutter. She still hadn't turned to face him, not wanting him to see the blush on her face.

"How many times do I have to tell you to lock the window if you don't want me breakin' in?" Natsu replied, his voice sending another shiver down her spine. Oh what she would give to have those lips against her again.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy swiveled the chair around to face Natsu, though with her sitting in the chair, her eyes were met with his toned abs instead. Gulping, the girl forced herself to meet his eyes, heat rushing to her cheeks as she pictured what was just below the hem of his pants.

"Hey, Natsu," Lucy squeaked. Clearing her thought, she brought her voice back down to its normal pitch. "W-What are you doing here?"

Natsu's lips straightened as he stared her down.

"Is it true?"

Lucy arched a brow. "Is what true?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly while nudging her carpet with the tip of his shoe. He suddenly whipped his head towards her, his onyx orbs gleaming with fierce resolve.

"Is it true that you don't regret what we did?" he asked. "Or were you just saying that earlier so they would get off your back?"

"Oh. Well I meant it," Lucy replied. "And I hope you don't regret it either."

"I don't!" Natsu exclaimed. Realizing his outburst, he ducked his face behind his scarf to hide his enthusiasm.

Still, he couldn't hide it from Lucy.

The girl blushed, clearing her throat and turning back towards her desk. She pretended to read through her notebook, absentmindedly flipping pages and moving her finger along the lines.

"Did you mean the other thing too?"

Her finger stopped, her eyes growing wide.

Slowly swiveling back around, she played with a lock of hair while swallowing thickly.

"M-Maybe," she replied meekly. "That is, if you want to, I mean."

"Do you want to?" Natsu asked.

"You tell me, I asked first!"

"No you didn't! I did!"

"No, your exact words were 'that is, if you want to.' Not a question, so I win!"

Lucy crosses her arms with a huff. "Well I want to, okay?" Realizing the words that slipped past her, she slapped her hands over her mouth. "I-I mean, we only did it once, so I'm still pretty inexperienced. I need to learn more if I really want to improve my writing."

"Oh, yeah. Your writing, of course," Natsu replied, nodding along. "And you do wanna be a famous author someday, so we can't let your writing be amateurish, right? What kinda best friend would I be if I didn't help you with your dream?"

"Exactly! So it's not weird for us to do this, right?"

"Not at all!"

The two broke eye contact, instead opting to stare at opposite walls as they laughed nervously.

"Well, let's set some ground rules if we're really going to do this," Lucy said, cupping her chin in thought. "First, we have to acknowledge that this is simply for my writing, that's it." After what Juvia said earlier, she couldn't risk Natsu getting the wrong idea. Not that he felt that way about her anyways, but just to be safe.

"Okay," Natsu replied, ignoring the punch to his gut he felt from her words. "I have a rule. If either one of us wants to stop, we have to tell the other person."

"Sounds good to me." Though she hoped he wouldn't want to stop anytime soon. "And most importantly, we can't let this ruin our friendship no matter what. If it seems like it's affecting our friendship, we call it quits. Got it?"

Natsu nodded. "Sounds good."

He held his hand out towards her, to which she accepted. They shook hands, solidifying their set of rules.

"So…" Natsu started, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Wanna go get some food?"

Lucy grinned. "Ooh yes! I'm starving!"

"Good! You're paying!"

"What!? No way! I paid last time!"

"No you didn't! I did!"