Behind My Back - Nalu Oneshot

1

"Hey Luce," Natsu asked. Lucy looked up from her writing desk and looked around. She had fallen asleep again.

"Yeah?" Lucy answered. She felt Natsu come up behind her and sat up more.

"Were you okay without me around?" Lucy didn't reply. Why was he asking this? She was too afraid to answer, thinking if she said yes that he'd leave her again, but she didn't want him to feel like she was weak without him. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." He simply answered. She hesitated but guiltily told him the truth.

"I was alright after a while, but it was really lonely." Lucy swallowed her over an excessive amount of spit in her mouth, making a gulp sound that seemed much too loud for comfort.

"Oh." That was all he said? Couldn't he at least apologize? She understood that he was training, and he did get stronger, but "oh" was his reply? Something in her started to make her fume.

Lucy bit back anger as she stood up to tell both Natsu and Happy to stay out of the bathroom so she could take a bath and recedes behind the curtain that blocked the bathroom from the living area. She wants to hear snickering and footsteps come her way but hears nothing and starts to strip off her clothes and turn the bath water on. After she felt like the water was hot enough, she slipped in, immediately relaxing her muscles. She was still upset though. "Oh"? That's all he had to say? Lucy pushed her face further into the water, her body sliding to lower herself. She played with her hair that was floating around her chest, lost in thought. Why was she so angry? She wasn't expecting a specific answer. Lucy wanted to scream but instead submerged her whole head in water, attempting to drown out her angered thoughts. Be happy again, your whole life is back, you have the job you've always dreamed of having, and you're perfectly healthy. Be happy with what you have.

"Lucy!"

Lucy was jerked from her thoughts as she gasped for air. She sat frozen as she analyzed the situation. Natsu had his grip on Lucy's shoulders and his legs were in the bath, soaking the hem of his pants. He was bent down and staring at her with his muddy green eyes that filled with worry, his lips thin and frowning.

"Everything was eerily quiet and I came to check on you to see you underwater and--" Lucy hushed Natsu and shook her head.

"I'm okay."

Natsu hesitantly lets go of Lucy and stood there for a minute, staring at Lucy's eyes. Then he stepped out of the bathtub and walked away, not even bothering to dry his feet.

Lucy's heart was pounding. He just saved her from drowning herself.

He saw me naked.

Lucy's face burned with embarrassment and she splashed her face with the bath water. It's not like she hasn't been butt- naked in front of him before, but this seemed different. She didn't know what made it so different from the others, and it didn't matter because it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.

Lucy, after awhile, got out of the bathtub after she started to notice her fingers looking wrinkly. She wrapped the nearest towel around her and flipped her head upside down to twist on another towel to hold her hair.

Nervously, Lucy tiptoed out of the bathroom to see where the two rascals were and found Natsu sleeping on the couch, his hands tucked under the back of his head with his elbows sticking out, and Happy resting on his thighs.

"Phew." Lucy let out a sigh and swiped pajamas from her closet to put on before going to bed.

She tossed and turned and could not sleep at all until she gave in and walked over to Natsu without thinking.