Fairy Tail Furious

Chapter 35

Natsu tumbled out of the bedroom, engulfed in the fluffy comforter, to find Lucy writing in a notebook on the couch. Still drunk of sleep and waking up to the uncomfortable chill without his usual snuggle-buddy with him, the racer walked into the doorframe twice in search for the blonde.

And here she was, still clad in pajamas and writing with a notebook he recognized from her backpack.

Tilting his head to the side, Natsu let out a childish whine before scurrying over to the couch and letting himself fall to the cushions, his face planting itself on Lucy's soft thigh. He ignored Lucy's startled squeak as he fixed himself to lay on his back, eyes tightly shut.

"Natsu!" Lucy whispered harshly, but her hand was gentle when it lightly pat his forehead. "What are you doing?"

"I woke up," he gurgled, sniffling, "and I was starting to feel gross, and you weren't there..."

"Honestly," Lucy sighed before tangling her fingers in his pinkish hair. Natsu really liked the feeling whenever Lucy did that to his head, making feel like he was in heaven by her gentle touch. She didn't sound too upset about his sudden entrance, so Natsu felt a little swell of pride in his chest at how Lucy is really sweet with him.

"Whadd'ya doin', Luce?" he breathed tiredly, cracking his eye open to look at the notebook in Lucy's other hand. It was worn down and kinda messed up from years of use, with little notes and doodles all over the back and front cover.

Lucy's brown eyes darted to look at his line of sight before smiling a little. Fixing Natsu's head on her lap to make her legs more comfortable and letting some of the blanket cover her feet; Natsu noticed her movement and held her legs in somewhat of a teddy bear-hold, resting his cheek against her leg.

"I'm just writing some stuff," Lucy shrugged after finishing. "I woke up early after our job and I just felt like writing. It's been a while since I've last done it."

"You like writin' stuff?"

"Mmhm. I was going for journalism while I was still in school," Lucy said softly, bringing the notebook down to rest on her other thigh to continue on writing with her pen. Natsu watched her face continue to concentrate on her writing, but a form of nostalgia in her smile. "I wrote ever since I was little with my mom. She kinda inspired me to take it into a career."

His head tilt against her skin, blinking. "How come you didn't finish, Luce?" he asked, but then regret his question when she stopped her writing hand and bit her lip. "You don't need to tell me, if you don't wanna. I was just -!"

"My dad forced me to quit school," Lucy explained with a little shrug. "I was in the second semester of my first year, and he said I couldn't go anymore. He already got my classes dropped and credits terminated, so I could stay home and take on the family business one day and I didn't want to."

"Why would he do that?" Natsu frowned darkly. Lucy looked to see him getting irritated, and it made her smile and brush her fingers through his hair again to silently tell him to calm down. "I mean, you were already an adult by then and you already decided what you wanted to do with your life - It's not fair for you that he did that."

"My dad...he changed a lot after my mom passed away when I was in high school," Lucy said quietly, her hand still gently touching his hair and cheek unconsciously. Looking to the scribbled words on her lined paper, the blonde woman's eyes went to a hooded stare, as if she was lost in her thoughts. "He used to be super awesome at being a dad, but I guess my mom's death did something to him to make him think that I would die, too. It was weird, but I hated being sheltered like that to the point I couldn't go anywhere."

"Sounds like those princesses trapped in towers, or somethin'," Natsu grumbled before crossing his arms underneath the blanket. Lucy giggled at his idea and agreed with his childish pout.