Never Ending Love (a Nalu Fanfiction)

Chapter 2. Mixed Feelings

Unable to fall asleep again, Lucy decided to wake up. She could not help but smile when she saw Natsu still snoring while his arm was wrapped around her waist. She carefully moved his hand and got up to take a shower and dress up. Once finished, she prepared breakfast for the three of them.

She approached him with a sweet voice and said, "Natsu, wake up! Let's eat so we can go to the guild."

A hoarse voice came from his lips. "Yeah, I am coming, Luce." He paused and stretched his arms up; then he looked at her and continued, "Are you ok? You are being nicer than usual... I mean, you didn't even fight me yesterday to get a shower..."

"Really?" Lucy replied, hiding her embarrassment. 

"Yeah! You couldn't wait to kick me out of your apartment before, and now you are even preparing breakfast... You are such a weirdo sometimes..." Natsu mumbles while yawning. 

Natsu turned to look at Lucy and noticed her flushed red face. Although he wasn't expecting a response from her, he wasn't expecting her reaction either. Her silence was echoing harder than any word she could have said, somehow making the situation between them even more chaotic than before. He muttered, "I...ummmm, I'll take a shower first, you and Happy can start eating without me."

While she saw him heading toward the bathroom door, she thought, "Natsu, if only I could be more honest about my feelings for you? But how can I let out these unspeakable feelings when I am certain that the one you love is not me? From beginning to end, your heart has never belonged to me..." She sighed in frustration, woke Happy up, and sat down to eat.

Before closing the bathroom door, Natsu snuck a look at Lucy and saw her face turn from embarrassment to a blank expression as she swayed, trying to wake Happy. Once in the bathtub, he closed his eyes and pressed his chest with his right hand, trying to control the wave of feelings Lucy awakened in him. He couldn't help but compare that feeling to what he had recently felt while being in Lisanna's company.

He thought, "I admit I was surprised when Lisanna returned. When I saw her running toward me, throwing herself into my arms, I felt the yearning for those special moments of our childhood, but her eyes and her embrace also unveiled her expectations of finding a lover rather than a friend in me. When she disappeared, for 2 long years, I asked myself time and time again if we would have come to build that kind of relationship together. Now, even though I know I can't afford to lose her again, I also can't bring myself to fulfill the marriage promise I once made her. Not until this turmoil of feelings settles down."

Natsu took a deep breath as a memory from the Grand Magic Games Wedding Contest crossed his mind. "Natsu!" said Lisanna, running towards him in a long, white, strapless wedding dress.

"You look good in that!" Natsu said, amazed by the beautiful girl with short ivory hair, charming sky-blue eyes, and a great personality who was standing before him.

"You too, Natsu!" she replied, embarrassed, fixing her gaze to the ground.

"¿When did this...?" He said, startled as he noticed that his outfit had changed.

"Come to think of it, when we were kids, I imagined that we would get..." Just before she could finish talking, she was interrupted by Lucy and Loke knocking Natsu down. But her half-sentence was enough for Natsu to understand what she meant.

Natsu let the water fall on his face and began thinking, "Back then, as her death consumed me in guilt, I did wonder how my future with Lisanna would be. But at some point, the pain and guilt that once overwhelmed me eased. Come to think of it, it was that day, when I was looking for Igneel at Hargeon Port. The day I met Lucy. Though I never admit she was mesmerizing, I felt an indescribable connection, some hidden attraction that drew me towards her. Her scent brought me so much nostalgia, as if I had known her for a very long time. As time went by, our bond grew rapidly and stronger, or at least it was until Zeref's battle. So... what happened to us after that? Lucy, I missed the way your eyes used to look at me. I feel us drifting, and it scares me not being able to stop it. Is there a storm in your life I am unable to see?"