12A/N: So, by now you all know that I ship both nalu and gruvia, which is why I think that after having a gruvia moment in the manga, for some reason I got struck with the inspiration for a nalu fic that relates to the aftermath of what sort of relationship stuff will hopefully be in the new chapter this week for gruvia. I don't really know exactly how this idea slipped into my subconscious, but it got in there somehow and I think it's really good and I hope you all like it!
Natsu thought he knew what to expect when they had defeated Aldoron. The whole guild was there and they were all happy and drunkenly celebrating, despite Wendy's wishes for everyone to take it easy while she healed them. And like usual Juvia was all over Gray and he looked very displeased about it. She was going on an on about how Gray said she was his "power to live" and he snickered, surprised that ice princess would really say something like that. He was about to go tease him about it but then Gray took Juvia's hand and led her away from the make-shift camp the guild had made.
Gray led her down a hill and Natsu noticed that a few of the nosier guild members had followed, peering down at the valley they were in to see what was going on. Natsu was curious too. So he followed them as best he could with his limp from the blow he had gotten on his knee and looked over the hill with his guild mates.
When he got there all he saw was Gray holding Juvia's hands, and he missed the first part of the conversation because he was late to the watch party, but with his dragon slayer hearing he could clearly pick up Gray saying the words "I want you to be mine. You're everything to me Juvia. I love you" before he pressed his lips against hers and then the watch party gave themselves away with their loud wolf-whistles and cheers and caused Gray to whip his head around to look at them in anger before shouting "what the hell does it take to get some privacy around here dammit!" and using his magic to make a wall of ice to block the onlookers view of him and Juvia.
Natsu was confused by everyone's excitement. He hadn't fully understood what he just saw but by listening to everyone else he was able to piece it together.
"Well it's about damn time he told her how he feels!" Macao said.
"Yeah you don't want to keep a beautiful girl like that waiting!" Wakaba said. "Especially one that's been in love with you for as long as she has. Man if that isn't true love then I don't know what is."
Natsu was still confused until a drunken Cana slung her arm around his shoulders and made everything quite clear.
"Now how long are you planning on making Lucy wait Natsu." Cana slurred.
"Wait? Wait for what?" He asked.
"To confess to her like Gray just did to Juvia dummy." Cana laughed. "Lucy wouldn't admit it but it was pretty clear she was worried when we all thought Touka was into you before we found out that she was an exceed that was in love with Happy."
Natsu was still confused but then the last thing Cana said to him is what got the message through.
"I mean damn Juvia waited for Gray for a long time without giving up but who knows how long Lucy's gonna wait to hear it from you."
It was in that moment that Natsu's heart seized in fear that waiting until after the quest to tell Lucy how he really felt about her might not have been the smartest move.
Even now, when he was alone with Lucy in a tent while she treated his injuries he was worried about what he should do. Should he follow Gray's example and tell Lucy how he really felt about her? Or did she not really like him and Cana was just teasing him like she does with all of the guild members when she's drunk.
And the fact that Lucy seemed visibly worried too as she pulled out his leg to apply bandages to his injured knee, definitely wasn't helping ease his anxiety. But it did switch his anxiety from being focused on himself to being focused on what's troubling her.
"What's wrong Luce? It seems like something's bothering you." Natsu asks.
Lucy sighs.
"You need to be more careful." Lucy says as she wraps a bandage around Natsu's leg.
Natsu winces as the medicine that was on the bandages touches the wound on his leg. He grabs Lucy's hand as a reflex to get her to stop dressing his wound and she gasps and blushes from the contact.
Truth be told, Natsu was surprised that Lucy had offered to care for him rather than let Wendy heal him. She said it was because Wendy was busy tending to the others wounds which was true but he knew her well enough at this point to know that there was another reason why she was putting that damn stinging lotion on his wounds.
"You don't need to be so worried about me Luce." He tells her with sincerity in his voice, and in his eyes but she can't see that because she's staring at the wound on his leg, deep in thought. "It's just a few injuries. I've had worse."
Natsu's smile falls when he sees Lucy wince. What he had said must not have reassured her like he thought it would. In fact it looks like he might have just made things worse.
"I know and that's what worries me! You always just go charging into danger, not caring if you'll get hurt or not!" Lucy says.
"Yeah, I don't care if I get a little beat up during a fight as long as I win it. I don't care what happens to me, as long as I'm protecting everyone else." Natsu says.
"But I do care what happens to you!" Lucy yells at him.
She was crying now and Natsu's heart was breaking at the sight. He hated it when Lucy was sad. And he hated it even more when he was the cause and he didn't know what to do to fix it.
"You said that we'd be together forever! So why do you keep putting yourself in situations where I could lose you!" Lucy scolds him and pulls the last bandage on his leg tightly, making him wince from the sting.
He didn't mind the pain that much though. The pain of her being so upset because of his actions was much worse.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Natsu pleads to her. "I'll try to be more careful in the future, so please don't hurt me!"
"I'm gonna hold you to that." Lucy says sternly after she sniffles and wipes the tears from her eyes as she reaches for his wounded arm and he holds it out for her.
Natsu looks at her apologetically while he tries to think of something more to say to her to make her feel better.
"I'm dead serious Lucy. I'll try to be more careful. When I told you that we'd be together forever I meant it. I've got no plans to leave you or our friends any time soon. So I'll try to be more careful if that makes you feel better. I had no idea you were worried about that too." Natsu says which makes Lucy frown in confusion.
"Wait, what else do you think I'm worried about?" Lucy asks.
"Touka." Natsu says.
Lucy feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she starts to get an idea of where this was going.
"W-well I was worried because she turned our whole guild white but we separated the white wizard from her so it's all taken care of. I'm not worried anymore." Lucy explains, feeling relief wash over her.
For a moment there she was worried that he might have heard something crazy from-
"But Cana told me you were worried that Touka and I would date each other." Natsu says.
"WHAT!?" Lucy exclaims and Natsu couldn't help but smirk.
Lucy looks so adorable sometimes when she's embarrassed. But as she rambles about how Cana was lying and she had no idea where she got that crazy idea from, it became clear to him that she was hiding something. And his heart filled with hope that that something was what he thought it was. But he still wasn't sure.
"I mean yeah I was relieved when I found out that she was an exceed that was in love with Happy instead of a human in love with you but that wasn't because I was jealous or anything it's because I was worried she was gonna get her heart broken because you're not interested in that sort of thing!" She rambles and Natsu frowns at her.
"What sort of thing?" Natsu asks.
Lucy laughs and shakes her head.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. I felt sorry for Touka because I thought she wanted to be your boyfriend and throughout all of the years I've known you, you've made it pretty clear that you're not interested in going out on dates or telling girls sweet things or even showing any interest in a woman at all. And I'm not mad at you or trying to insult you for not wanting a relationship or anything. That's your choice and you don't need to be interested in romance if you don't want to be. I like you just the way you are. I was just worried for her because I thought she'd be disappointed when she learned you would never reciprocate her feelings." Lucy explains before wrapping up his arm.
That disappointed tone in her voice when she said that last sentence said it all. He knew how she felt about him now. She just didn't know that he felt the same. With Cana's warning still echoing in his mind, he decided to end her worrying, by making it clear now how he felt about her.
"Well yeah." Natsu scoffs. "Why the hell would I be interested in Touka when I've got you."
Lucy freezes and drops the bandage roll as he finishes that sentence.
She looks up at him and sees him smiling at her with that goofy grin of his and gulps.
"W-what?" She asks and Natsu stops grinning and instead offers her a small smile with a look of sincerity and utter adoration for the woman at his side tending to his injuries.
With his dragon slayer hearing, he could hear her heart pounding. And he knew it was now or never.
"Lucy, you know that you're the only one I want right?" Natsu asks her and Lucy gasps and her face turns bright red.
"W-want?" She flusterdly stammers. "Want me for what?"
Now it was Natsu's turn to laugh and shake his head at Lucy's confusion.
"You know." Natsu tells her and takes her hand in his and holds it up between them as he laces his fingers through hers. "I've already told you that we're going to be together forever. That means that for as long as we're alive, I'm yours and you're mine."
Lucy felt her heart pounding as her heart filled with hope that Natsu was saying what she thought he was saying. But he had mislead her before, so this time she needed to be absolutely certain...
"Natsu I'm not quite sure what you mean." Lucy apologizes.
Natsu frowns a bit in frustration before thinking of another way to explain it.
"The way that Gray feels about Juvia. I feel the same way about you Lucy. If Juvia is Gray's power to live, then Lucy, you're my power to fight." Natsu says at Lucy lets out a soft gasp in shock. "I used to fight to become stronger to find Igneel. But then I met you and I started fighting for you instead. I've always been protective of our guild. They're my family. I'll always fight to protect them but most importantly, I'm fighting for you, to make this world safer for you so you can be happy and that nothing will ever make you cry again. I love you Lucy Heartfilia. And after seeing Gray and Juvia, I finally realize how I can show you how I feel about you." Natsu says and Lucy gulps as his gaze shifts from her eyes to her lips. "That is, if you feel the same way?" Natsu asks shyly.
Lucy couldn't help the huge grin that grew on her face from those words, as well as the tears of joy that were sliding down her cheeks.
"Of course I do you big dummy. I love you too." Lucy says as Natsu wipes her tears away with his thumbs.
Natsu was smiling too until he saw her close her eyes and lean in closer to his face. So he carefully places his hand on her lower back, and his other hand on the back of her head and her breath hitches before he brings his mouth to hers and closes his eyes.
The kiss wasn't much. It was the first one for both of them, unless you count what happened with Natsu and Happy. But even though right now, Natsu and Lucy were only pressing their lips together, when their lips finally parted, both of them were happier than they've been in a long time.
"Wow...so that's what a kiss is?" Natsu asks and Lucy giggles.
"I guess so. I wouldn't know if it's supposed to be anything else because that was the only one I've ever had." Lucy admits. "But I liked it. Did you?"
"Yeah!" Natsu exclaims with that childlike excitement that never failed to make Lucy laugh. "C-can we do it again?" He asks her with a mix of shyness and eagerness and that Lucy found so endearing there was no way she could say no, even though her answer was already a yes regardless.
What had started out as just practice kissing had now turned into a practice make-out session. Lucy was seated in Natsu's lap with her legs straddling him as she held his jaw in her hands and moved her mouth against his. Meanwhile, his hands were moving, mostly down her back but would sometimes move across her hip and down her thigh to move her leg to give him room to readjust how she was sitting on his lap to make the position more comfortable for him before he resumed kissing her.
Lucy was surprised by how much effort he was putting into this. For someone who's never shown any interest in romance before, he was learning to read her signals and finding where she wanted to be touched by the little gasps that would leave her lips when his calloused fingers ran across a sensitive part of her skin and knowing which part of her body needed support when he readjusted himself so she wouldn't fall over.
She was enjoying this. And she could feel that he was too. That's why he had to readjust how she was sitting on his lap. A few thoughts ran through her head about taking this a bit further because of that. She was starting to feel a bit hot, and she thought about how good it would feel to have her bare skin against his if she took her top off. I mean, it's not like he'd be seeing anything new at this point. She'd lost count of how many times he'd seen everything God had given her. But thank goodness she kept herself dressed because Happy came flying into the tent just as she was lifting her hand up to one of the buttons on her top.
"Hey Natsu I got you a fish to help make you feel better-AAAAAHHHH WHAT IN THE GOOD NAME OF FISH ARE YOU DOING!" Happy screams at the top of his lungs.
Natsu and Lucy scream together when Happy barges in, forgetting how accessible their tent was and that their other friends like Happy were also worried about Natsu's condition and would probably be coming by to check on him.
And after hearing Happy scream like that, said friends threw the tent flap open, revealing Lucy sitting in Natsu's lap with her hands on his upper chest while he had one hand on the back of her head and the other resting on her rear, and with both of their lips looking red and a bit puffy it was pretty obvious what the two of them were doing and after the initial gasp of shock and moment of silence as they tried to process the fact that Natsu of all people was making out with someone, they all cheer in congratulations for the couple, saying things like "well it's about time!" and "I knew this quest would get them to confess!", which was a pretty common one because it rhymed.
And people began to pass Jewels to each other which made Lucy upset because she didn't like the fact that their guild mates were betting on her love life but it was hard to stay upset at them once she saw Makarov tearing up and sniffling at the front of the crowd.
"I knew Gray would get his act together and confess to Juvia at some point." Makarov says as he wipes his tears on his sleeve. "But to think that you've finally matured enough to confess your feelings for Lucy too? I couldn't be prouder of my children!" Makarov sniffles again and Lucy and Natsu rest their heads together while they both look at Makarov fondly. "Oh I never thought I'd live to see the day!" He exclaims.
"Hey! Give me some credit old man, I'm not as oblivious as that ice dick and everyone else thinks I am!" Natsu shouts back at him angrily, but then Lucy's laughter calms him down and she lays her head against his chest and he rests his own on top of hers before gently kissing her forehead.
"This is so unfair!" Happy wails. "I've known about romance longer than Natsu has! How come this idiot manages to get a girl before I can?"
"Well if you wanna follow Natsu's lead, it looks like if you want to get some action, all you've got to do is get yourself injured and then a girl that likes you will not only patch you up but feel you up too!" A drunk Cana teases.
"Hey I was not feeling him up!" Lucy argues.
"Whatever you say Lucy!" Cana laughs. "Either way I'm proud of you girl. And proud of you too Natsu. The two of you are really growing up."
"I guess we are. And that was a great idea you had there for Happy too!" Natsu says and ignites his fist. "Here Happy, if you wanna get injured I'll help you out!" Natsu growls, making Happy sweat.
"Ahhh! No don't hurt me! I take back what I said about you being an idiot when it comes to women!" Happy rambles as he flies back out of the tent as fast as he can.
"Ouch." Natsu groans and drops his fist while looking at the bandaged area on his arm.
"Hey be careful. You'll be all healed up soon enough but for right now you need to save your strength and take it easy." Lucy says.
"Okay. Whatever you say Lucy. I'll take it easy for you when I can help it so you don't have to worry so much." Natsu says before leaning down to capture her lips.
Both of them were grinning into the kiss from the sound of cheers and wolf-whistles congratulating them from outside of the tent.
A/N: So yeah I don't know how I came up with the idea for this fic. But it just popped into my head and I thought it was really good so I decided I should share it with the rest of you! I hope you all thought it was as good as I thought it was in my head.