33A/N- This is an idea I wanted to try out for a really long time, but I never figured out how to go about it. Then all of a sudden, I just got an idea!
Disclaimer- I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters
The first time she heard it, she thought it could of just been a weird fluke. They were at the guild, taking a small break as they had just concluded their last mission. Lucy was sitting next to Natsu while he stuffed his face with food. Normally, she would comment something about him being a pig, but she was busy reading one of her favorite books. And she was just getting to the good part.
She was solely focused on the words in front of her, despite the rambunctious guild around her. Now that she thinks about it, they were particularly rowdier today. She was just lucky Natsu was too hungry to get into any fights. Lucy absentmindedly flipped the page of her book and scanned her eyes over the words. The main protagonist had just saved the princess after she was kidnapped.
She could barely contain the smile on her face as she read the page. They were back at the castle, and the main protagonist was telling the princess just how worried he was about her. And now, he was leaning in to kiss the princess. Lucy made a small gasp as she quickened her reading pace. She had been waiting for this moment since she started the book.
But a strange noise brought her out of her concentration. Usually, she would of just ignored it, but it was an oddly familiar noise. Something Happy made sometimes. But Happy wasn't even near her right now, so it couldn't have been him. She blinked a few times, before finally setting down her book.
She looked to her right first. Well, there was nobody there or near there so it couldn't come from that way. Then she turned to her left. Natsu was beside her. His plates were empty and he was leaning back on his chair and patting his stomach in content. With a huge smile on his face.
His eyes were closed, and Lucy could tell he was about to pass out. So, quietly, she scooted closer to him. And surprisingly, the noise only got louder. Her brows furrowed and she leaned into him, her thighs touching his now. Her ear pressed against his shoulder.
The left side of her head began to vibrate. So he was making that noise! It sounded so familiar...something Happy does...
Purring!
He was purring!
Stealthily, she pressed her hand against his chest, it rumbled periodically. Coming from his throat and residing in his chest. She was so shocked, she hadn't even noticed Natsu's frown while he was drifting off to sleep. He slowly opened an eye and peered down at the blonde. His mouth hung open a bit and he gave her a confused stare, although she didn't notice.
"L-Lucy? What...what are you doing?" He deadpanned. She tilted her head up to him, not a shred of embarrassment evident on her face.
"You're purring." She told him simply, leaning down to a better angle so that she could hear the noise clearly. On the other hand, Natsu had stiffened up.
"No! No, I'm not purring!" He spluttered, after finally shaking himself out of his daze.
"Yes you are. I can hear it."
"No I'm not!"
"Ah! It got louder!"
"No it didn't!"
Lucy couldn't contain the giggle that rose from her throat. She wasn't lying either, it had gotten louder. Natsu had to have noticed by now.
"Then what do you call the noise you're making?" She asked him curiously. Staring into his eyes, she realized that his cheeks were the color of his hair. He was embarrassed? For some reason, that realization just made the whole ordeal even cuter. Meanwhile, Natsu ran a hand through his hair while trying find an answer to her question.
"It's not anything, you're just imagining it!" He finally spit out. He wasn't going to admit that she was right. Hopefully, she would believe him and just drop the subject. Lucy pouted at his answer and leaned away from him. The noise was still present, but Natsu wasn't going to acknowledge it.
"Fine," she said. "You win."
...
The second time, she knew it couldn't be just some weird coincidence. They were on a mission, along with the rest of team Natsu. The team had just finished up hunting down a few bandits that were ransacking villages near them. After taking them to the authorities and collecting their reward, it had already become dark. So they set up camp in the woods.
Everyone was sitting around a fire Natsu had created, finding warmth near the flames. Everyone happily chatted with each other about different things while the moon shone high in the sky. Lucy was seated next to Natsu, him on her right while Wendy was on her left. She was quiet, surprisingly. Unlike everyone else, she was exhausted from their mission.
She had stayed up all night the previous day after she struck inspiration for her novel. Finally going to sleep at 7am, she was rudely woken by Natsu telling her Erza picked out a mission and she had to be at the train station in an hour. The whole day consisted of her dragging her feet and yawning. She was hardly useful for the mission, something that caused her to feel a bit of guilt. Stifling another yawn, she closed her eyes.
The sound of her friend's voices lulled her into a trance. One where she was aware of things going on around her, but she was practically asleep. Without thinking, she shifted her weight to the right and leaned her head against Natsu's arm. She felt Natsu stiffen for a second from her touch, but realizing it was her, he relaxed. She mumbled something incoherent and shuffled closer to him to get more comfortable.
She could still hear talking, but it was much quieter. Something she was thankful for. She was pretty sure they had noticed her fatigue throughout the day and let her slack behind. Her breathing was slowly becoming even. Her eyes were getting heavier...
She heard that noise again. It was loud too. Not loud enough to be heard by anyone else, just loud enough to vibrate his body as well as hers. She was beginning to understand when he made said noise. Whenever he was content.
Exactly like a cat.
Was Happy rubbing off on him or something?
She pursed her lips slightly. It was kind of getting harder to sleep. She opened her eyes again, another yawn escaping passed her lips.
"Natsu," she said tiredly. "You're purring again." She mumbled, tilting her head up to look at Natsu. He was busy talking to Erza and Gray, but stopped when she said his name. Processing what she told him, Natsu flinched.
"Huh?"
"You're purring again." She repeated.
"Purring?" Gray blinked in confusion. "What are you, a cat?" He snickered. Natsu growled towards the ice mage and clenched his fist.
"It-It's not purring! Lucy, I told you you're just imagining it!" He scolded her. She leaned back from him and frowned.
"But I'm not. I can feel it, and I know you can too! Wendy," Lucy said, turning to the smaller dragon slayer. "Will you tell him I'm right. It has to be some kind of dragon slayer thing." Lucy huffed and put her hands on her hips, puffing up her cheeks. Wendy jumped from being put in the spot light, and stared at Lucy with her mouth open. She wanted to give Lucy her real answer. But the desperate look in Natsu's eyes told her not to.
"Sorry Lucy, I didn't hear anything. You were pretty tired today, and maybe it was just a bug nearby making that noise." Wendy suggested. Lucy hummed suspiciously and stared at Wendy, before turning back to Natsu, who quickly turned his head the other way. She narrowed her eyes. They were lying. But she was too tired to argue. So she let out a big sigh and crashed her body against Natsu once more.
She could hear it still, and she knew it was coming from Natsu.
She wasn't crazy.
"Whatever." She said.
...
The third time she heard it, she couldn't let him blow her off again.
This time, it was just the two of them. She was writing at her desk in her apartment and he was laying on her bed. She hadn't minded when he stopped by, it felt nice having company, even if they were doing different things. Thankfully, today they had a day off and decided to just stay at her apartment instead of going to the guild. She remembered briefly asking Natsu about Happy.
He told her that the blue cat was busy hanging around Charle and didn't want to come with Natsu. Lucy smiled at the thought. Happy sure was cute when he was thinking about Charle. She then let out a sigh and tapped her pen on her desk. She had been daydreaming instead of writing.
She just couldn't think of what to write next. With a shake of her head, she fixed and organized her papers before putting them away. Oh well, she'll get inspiration some other time. Standing up, she pushed her chair and stretched. She was so stiff from hours of just sitting in that chair.
Turning, she noticed Natsu relaxing on her bed. Without hesitation, she walked to her bed and fell down beside him. She had gotten quite used to him barging in and sleeping on her bed that now she doesn't even think about kicking him out anymore. Peering out the window, she noticed the sun still in the sky. Checking her clock, she let out another sigh.
It was only three o'clock. She guessed a nap wouldn't hurt, Natsu certainly didn't think so. So, she got comfortable and closed her eyes. Only to snap them open again after hearing him purr. She was waiting for this moment to happen again.
She finally realized for sure when he purrs. The first time was after he ate and this time he was doing it while he slept. She still couldn't really figure out the second time it happened though. It started shortly after she laid against him. Could it mean that...
When he was around her, he was content!? Just like if he were eating or sleeping!?
A thick blush stained her cheeks as a giddy smile stretched across her face. She figured him out, and now she was sure why he didn't want her to know about his purring. But now the real question is, how was she going to make him admit it? Once the idea popped into her head, her smile turned mischievous.
She shuffled closer to Natsu and sprawled her upper body on top of him. Blowing on his nose, she got him frown a bit before going back to sleep. Doing it the second time got him to stirr and mumble in annoyance. And the third time finally woke him up.
"W-What? Luce...I'm sleeping here." He yawned. With an innocent smile, she laid her head sideways on his chest. She was happy she could still hear him purr loud and clear.
"I hear something strange..." she hummed. Immediately knowing what she was talking about, he let out a small growl.
"Lucy..." he whispered warningly.
"I know I know, I'm imagining it. But I've finally found a pattern with this imaginary noise I'm hearing." She teased. Feeling him freeze under her made her want to tease him even harder.
"Y-You did, did you...?" he chuckled nervously.
"Yup!" She grinned. "The first time I heard it, it was after you ate. This time I heard it when you were sleeping. Logically, I know that these are the things you really like to do. So I hear this noise whenever you're happy or relaxed." She explained to him. With a defeated sigh he sat up on his elbows and stared into her eyes.
"You really put some thought into this huh?"
"Of course, but I am still confused about one thing..."
"Oh yeah, and what's that?"
"It's just that," she started, desperately trying to hide the sly smile that wanted to break out. "When I heard it the second time, it wasn't because you were eating or sleeping. It happened when I leaned against you. And if I follow the logic I've been using for the other two times..." Lucy trailed off. She noticed the look in his eyes. Like he was caught doing something he shouldn't have. She broke into a laughter at his expression
"It's- It's not like I can control it or anything!" He whined, his face as red as Erza's hair. Knowing now he couldn't even control it made her laugh harder. He was just so cute sometimes.
"Aw-ww Natsu, it's okay. I'm happy!" She giggled. Without even thinking about it, she leaned up and pecked his cheek. She wasn't lying, she really was happy. She makes him happy, just like he makes her happy. That quick action caused Natsu to still for a moment.
It was silent, before his purring increased tenfold.
Lucy's eyes widened for a second, but then she laughed again. Natsu on the other hand, leaned back down on her bed and covered his face with his forearm.
"Oh man..." He murmured in embarrassment.
A/N- I had really fun writing this piece. I'm a sucker for the Natsu purrs headcanon and I just really had to make a piece on it.
Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed!